Apparel Online India Magazine December 1st Issue 2018 | Page 40
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UNORGANISED APPAREL MANUFACTURING
CONTINUES; FIRE KILLS 4 WORKERS
T
here have been many attempts by
the Government to shift factories
out of residential and crowded areas
of Delhi, but many garment factories
continue to operate in such places
and the spotlight is brought back on
to them only when a tragedy occurs.
Beadonpura area (Karol Bagh) is one
such hub which recently was in the
news when four people, including two
women, were killed and one injured
in a fire incident. The factory was
being run illegally in the residential
area and producing garments for
Indian domestic market. According to
reports, the factory has a narrow exit;
so workers faced difficulty escaping
when fire broke out due to a solvent
used for laundering clothes that
accidentally spilled on to the floor.
Though two fire tenders were rushed
to the spot and fire was brought under
control quickly, it could not prevent
human loss. The owner of the house,
who had permitted the factory to
operate, has been arrested and a
case under Section 304 of the Indian
Penal Code (culpable homicide not
amounting to murder) registered.
But is this enough to prevent such
incidents from happening? Besides
Karol Bagh, there are thousands
of small- and medium-size illegal
garment factories dangerously
operating in the residential areas of
Gandhi Nagar, Raghubarpura, Kailash
Nagar, Tank Road, Mandawali and
many other areas of Delhi. Most of
the streets, where these factories are
located, are so narrow that even fire
tenders can’t enter the premises. In
2018, four such unfortunate accidents
have already taken place in the
above-mentioned areas accompanied
by loss of workers’ life.
Apparel Online has raised such
issues of negligence time and again,
and also warned of serious accidents
any time, considering the poor
and cramped working conditions.
Offering fabric to entire range of
garments is Gandhi Nagar – the
biggest garment market of Asia – but
majority of manufacturing here is
unorganised and in illegal areas.
Kanwal Kumar Bali, the veteran
of this area and President, Delhi
Hosiery and Readymade Garments
ESSENTIALS
The issue of
unorganized and
illegal garment
factories is not just
confined to Gandhi
Nagar, Karol Bagh
or some such areas
of the National
Capital Delhi. Even
Ludhiana, another
major hub of
textile and apparel
manufacturing,
is facing a similar
situation as in the
last summer season
many incidents of
fire were reported
from there.
Manufacturers Association,
Delhi informed Apparel Online,
“Government, local administration
and factory owners are equally
responsible for this mess and now
the situation is getting worse.”
In a positive development, the recent
sealing drive undertaken as per
Supreme Court’s instructions has
resulted in nearly 350 such factories
being sealed. “A large number of
such factories have been shifted and
many are in the process of doing so,
but due to growing demand for new
locations, in recent months the land
price in nearby industrial areas of
Ghaziabad, Bawana, Patparganj, etc.
have escalated by more than 40
per cent,” averred Bali. The
association is motivating its
members to shift their manufacturing
from congested areas. “Until mass
shifting of factories does not take
place from congested areas, such
sad incidents can happen any time.
As for workers, since most of them
are migratory, they will go along with
the factories when they relocate,”
reasons Bali.
Hundreds of these factories don’t provide any space to their operators for having their lunch, and therefore they are forced to take lunch on the shopfloor. Besides, this image also reflects the unhygienic working conditions
40 Apparel Online India | DECEMBER 1-15, 2018 | www.apparelresources.com