A majority of the industries, including food processing units and cashew factories, remained closed even after relaxation of the lockdown norms from April 20.
The administration has directed the factory owners to apply online and get permission from the mandal revenue officers concerned to reopen their units. They have to submit photos of sanitisers, masks, staff details and others. Hardly, a dozen applications have been received in various mandals. The district administration has made it clear that the applicants should not approach the officers directly to get clearances.
Many businessmen in the rural areas have not applied for reopening of their units, including rice mills and cashew factories. Meanwhile, Srikakulam-Palasa Cashew Manufacturing Association president Malla Srinivasa Rao urged the government to allow all the factories to begin operations since many States, including Karnataka and Kerala, permitted for operation of factories in the green zones.
“Over 5,000 women workers and others lost their livelihood for the last one month. To protect their interests, the government should permit cashew factories to resume work. All the traders and owners of the factories would ensure social distancing in factories apart from providing sanitisers and masks to the workers,” said Mr. Srinivasa Rao.
Palasa TDP in-charge Y. Venkanna Chowdary urged the district administration to allow the factories to run as usual since over 50,000 people directly or indirectly depend on cashew industry in Palasa constituency.
Manpower shortage
Pharmaceutical industries have been allowed to continue their operations, but shortage of manpower is a major concern. Many employees and workers who come from villages on their own transport are facing problems owing to checking at various places. To avoid alleged harassment, many of them kept off work for the last one month. Many food processing industries are unable to procure raw material although they had been permitted to run their factories.
Durga Prasanna Kumar of Indian Groceries Company at Pusapati Rega said the raw material supply from Guntur and other places had been stopped due to lack of transport facility.
