As the lockdown has been extended till August 31, trade and industry associations here have appealed to the government to relax the e-pass system.
In a memorandum submitted to the Coimbatore district Collector on Friday, the Federation of Trade Associations, Coimbatore, said this month too the e-pass system would be in force and it affected the business community.
It took a long time for businessmen to get e-passes. The district administration should permit travel between districts by accepting basic documents such as GST certificate, financial statement, or invoice copy.
Amirtharaj, a farmer at Kinathukadavu, finds it relatively easy to get workers for agriculture jobs. However, some farmers who grow groundnuts or onions get workers from other districts during harvest. With bus services suspended and e-passes not easy to get, these workers are unable to reach the farms. They try to reach the farms by vans, he said.
Coimbatore District Small Industries Association president R. Ramamurthy said getting an e-pass had become difficult. There were several industries located in Sulur area. “These units come under Tiruppur district. Even the unit owners are unable to go to factories daily,” he said.
E-passes are needed for migrant workers to return to Coimbatore, for maintenance personnel to travel to other districts to look at machines, and for unit owners to visit their factories located in adjoining districts. Probably, one-time pass can be given to some who need to visit the factories daily. They system of issuing passes should be made simple.
Industries were unable to take up weekly maintenance work because of total lockdown on Sundays. The workers and employees involved in the work were unable to reach the units, Mr. Ramamurthy said.
An official of the district administration said highest number of e-passes had been issued in Coimbatore. There were stringent norms to allow migrant workers to return to Coimbatore. In the case of industries, the administration issued passes for inter-district travel within the zone.
