: The Standing Council of Trade Unions, a combine of industrial workers, decided on Wednesday to resist ecological extremism and appealed to the Government to expedite inquiry into the attack on Nitta Gelatin’s corporate office in the city on November 10.
The call came at a roundtable on the topic, ‘Investors’ security and ecological extremism’ at the Kalamassery Town Hall. Convenor of the Standing Council K.N. Gopinath, who introduced the topic and welcomed the gathering said that incidents like the one on November 10 were a setback to Kerala.
Nobody should be allowed to take law into their own hands, he said, and claimed that the Maoists had denied any hand in the attack on the Nitta Gelatin office. Another industrial concern was attacked in Aluva on November 18 in the district, he added.
Principal Secretary of Industries, P.H. Kurien, who inaugurated the discussions, said that Kerala could perhaps look forward to parts of the rubber plantations in the State giving way to manufacturing units. He also said that Kerala could explore the possibility of offering land for manufacturing units under the Make in India project.
He said that it was essential to increase the share of manufacturing industry in Kerala’s economy, but called for a fine balance between environment and industrial production.
Mr. Kurien said that Kerala’s ‘money order economy’ was not sustainable in the long-term and emphasised the need to increase industrial production. He said he was an optimist on this front despite arguments that Kerala had limited land resources. He said Kerala had to double its industrial manufacturing to raise the sector’s share in GDP to 12 per cent at least.
UDF District Convenor M.O. John, who is also the chairman of the Standing Council, was the moderator at the discussions. State president of INTUC R. Chandrashekharan spoke at the discussions.
