Lockdown 3.0 - What are the Industries permitted to begin operations in Coimbatore District?

Coimbatore: The Coimbatore district is all set to allow the reopening of industries following its closure from March 24th. Following the decision of the central government led by PM Modi, to bring the entire country under lockdown on March 24th, all businesses, industries, retail establishments, malls and Theaters have been shutdown.

With the second lockdown coming to an end on May 3rd, 2020, the central and state governments have relaxed many norms for the while also keeping the lockdown enforced for the districts under red zone and those areas that have been designated as containment zones. 

This situation has affected the industry badly and all those who depend on the industries have been badly hit. Big and small industries have been severely hit due to the inevitable shutdown to control the pandemic. The migrant workers situation too has been on an edge in the recent days with many of them wanting to return to their hometowns due to lack of work and certainty of future job opportunities. 

To establish a working plan for industries to reopen, the Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programs, SP Velumani today convened a meeting to discuss the reopening of industries in the presence of District Administration authorities Collector K Rajamani, City Commissioner of Police Sumith Saran, Corporation Commissioner Shravan Kumar, Roots Group of Companies Chairman Ramaswamy, Adwaith Industries Chairman Ravi Sam and others from the various departments concerning industry. 

In the meeting it was decided that permitted industries other than those present in containment zones can start functioning with reduced manpower and strict adherence to social distancing and hygiene norms. 

Even before this meeting, essential industries like those producing ventilators, masks, food products, medical products, oxygen cylinders, farm equipments and packaging industries have been functioning with strict adherence to social distancing and hygiene norms. 

Coimbatore district is host to nearly 1.50 lakh MSMEs and big industries providing job opportunities to over 5 lakh people. 40% of them stay inside their factory campuses. 

Of these 1.5 lakh businesses, nearly 60% of them are located in rural places and 40% of them are operating from urban locations. These include industries like foundries, textiles, powerloom, wet grinders, pump and plastic product industries. Out of these around 325 big industries are located in the rural parts of the district and around 100 big industries are present in the cities. 

Based on this spread and assessing the various measures taken to prevent the spread of coronavirus, it has been decided to allow the operation of the following industries with necessary measures in place: 

1. A total of 6120 textile based industries  - 706 spinning mills, 5200 power looms and 220 auto looms have been permitted to start operations with up to 50% manpower. 
2. 500 foundries have been permitted to operate with a minimum of 50% manpower. 
3. Wet grinder industries can operate with a minimum of 50% manpower. 
4. Pump set industries which form an integral part of the farmer’s equipment will also operate. 
5. All other industries and outlets which had previous permissions from the state government like banks, farming, farming related industries, Amma Unavagams, orphanages etc will continue to operate as usual. 
6. Industries located in panchayats with 50% manpower of 20 people should be allowed to operate.
7. Those industries located in panchayats which have more than 15,000 population will receive permissions to operate with 50% manpower after District Collector visits those locations and deems them safe. 
8. Industrial Estates located in Town Panchayats will be allowed to operate with 50% manpower. 
9. Export companies located in cities will be permitted after Collector inspection.
10. Textile mills located in the rural parts of the district can operate with 50% manpower in shift method. 
11. Textile designing firms and manufacturers of leather goods can operate with 30% manpower to enable them to start sampling works after District Collector inspection. 
12. IT companies can operate with 50% manpower of 20 people working. 
13. Construction work can continue if the workers are allowed to stay inside the premises of the construction. Only one time, companies are allowed to bring people from outside. 
14. Construction related activity pertaining to government or public related work will be permitted. 
15. Plumbers, electricians, AC mechanics, and carpenters can operate after procuring necessary permits from the Collector.
16. Hardware shops related to construction, cement and construction equipment shops and Electricals retail shops can operate from morning 9 AM to evening 5PM. 
17. No restriction on transportation of construction materials. 

With strict adherence to social distancing, hygiene and manpower norms, and after procuring the necessary permits from the District Collector, the above mentioned industries and businesses can start operating from May 6, 2020, said the release from the District Administration.