By Brij Khandelwal
Agra, Jul 25 (IANS): Gloom is writ large on the industrial canvas of Agra. The industries in the Taj Trapezium Zone which were earlier hit by the anti-pollution campaign, are now feeling the heat due to Covid-19.
Agra's local industries including the tourism sector have taken a big hit as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of relenting. The mood is despondent, as the city observes the 55-hour long lockdown again from Saturday.
The district administration is clearly alarmed as in the past 24 hours 23 cases were reported. The June daily average was below ten. in July it has gone up to between 15-20 daily. As testing facilities have increased more people are coming forward. The home quarantine facility has also come as a relief to those who can afford. The private hospitals are now open to admitting patients for treatment. Health officials said the district was fully prepared with more than a thousand beds.
With the 97th death on Friday, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Agra stands at 1,604. The number of active cases is 206. So far 1,301 have recovered and discharged. The number of samples tested till Friday is 38,869. The administration has opened 18 centres in the rural areas and ten in the urban areas for the rapid antigen tests.
The MP border has been sealed for three days. Hundreds of vehicles were refused permission to enter Gwalior from Agra side.
The chief worry of the locals is the huge setback to the small and cottage industries in Agra. For almost four months now, the conditions have remained critical threatening the existence of this sector which employs lakhs of people. Tourism and the leather shoe industry have also been hit hard. "Till date there is no clarity when conditions would normalise. The Taj Mahal remains closed. The hundreds of big and small hotels dependent on the historical monuments are shut, though some big ones are planning to open from August 1."
The shoe industry that provides work to over three lakh people, is in peril, though a handful of exporters have been able to begin their operations to meet pending demands and export obligations. But new orders are rare. The cottage industries, which mostly run from homes, see no future, for the time being, till restrictions on mobility are fully removed. Festivals are opportunities for big sales, but the pandemic has forced restrictions of all kinds, says a small shoe industry owner of Jeoni Mandi.
Badly hit by Covid-19 is the famous Agra Petha industry, in the small industry sector. As visitors are not coming to Agra, petha sales have been badly hit. The sale at railway stations has also come down as there are fewer trains now.
Agra being a hub of small scale industries, is now feeling the heat, as unemployment stares and cripples the hopes of lakhs of people here. The iron foundries, the generator-sets manufacturers, the handicrafts industry, are facing an uncertain future. The Firozabad glass industry is equally in doldrums. Glass bangles which used to be supplied all over India ahead of the festivals, Teej and Raksha Bandhan, find fewer buyers, due to the pandemic. In Mathura, the sale of sweets, Peda and shringar samigri of Sri Krishna, which was exported before Sri Krishna Janamashtmi, has been badly hit.
The industrialists in Agra have approached the state government, for relief in taxes, cut in power consumption bills, and some reliefs on interests from banks for loans. "Though the state and the union governments have announced so many schemes as part of the bail out packages, no one is showing any interest in taking a loan. No startups or new units have come up and the existing units are facing a grim crisis. If you walk through the Nunihai and the Foundry Nagar industrial estates you will observe the thick dark clouds of gloom," said a factory owner.
Industries in the whole Taj Trapezium Zone, including districts of Firozabad, Mathura and Agra, are in the thick of trouble, with no early respite in sight. "The government Babus are holding meetings for opening new units, but no one is concerned about the old and the existing industries that are facing closure, for a variety of reasons. The migration of workers to the rural hinterland is a temporary phase, but sooner or later they will all return as there is no work in the villages. How will such a large human resource be utilised gainfully," asked an industrialist running an iron foundry.
The drop in sale of properties and suspension of construction activities, has deprived a large number of people of work and means of livelihood. Builders are reluctant to start new projects as they do not see any early revival of the economy to boost the purchasing capacity of the people, according to a contractor of the city, Hari Dutt Sharma.
The state government has already shelved some big developmental projects. The Agra Development Authority (ADA) is not taking up any new projects and is busy disposing of its unused properties at cost price. A major chunk of the earning of the ADA is from the toll collected from the historical monuments in Agra. "Now that there are no visitors or domestic tourists coming to Agra, the ADA is on the backfoot and refusing to undertake any developmental projects."
Similar is the fate of a large number of public schools and the elite institutions that thrived on fat fees. Now the parents are protesting and demanding major cuts in fees. The school managements have not relented but the prospect of schools reopening any time before Dussehra holidays seem remote. The online classes run by many schools have created many new problems.