Defunct Melur co-op spinning mill can be a better job provider, say villagers

Former key job-providing co-operative spinning mill in Melur, Madurai, left unused, could be revamped or turned into IT park.

When the need for growth of industrial sectors in Madurai district is being widely discussed, the Madurai district co-operative spinning mills limited in Melur once served as key job-providing unit till 1996 for the people of Madurai and neighbouring districts.  

The mill which was started in Melur in 1960 by the then Congress Melur MLA P. Kakkan benefited about 1,600 families directly and 50,000 families indirectly. 

The high-tech machines installed in the mill could process 12,000 strands of cotton at a time, said a former worker R. Kalyanasundaram (74) of Melur.  

Mr. Kalyanasundaram, starting from 1977, had worked at the mill in the blanket, towel manufacturing section, till the mill was shut down around 1998. 

“I started with a salary of ₹ 1.50 and ended my career there with ₹125. The mill, which came at the time when many of the people were uneducated and unaware of the outside world, was a huge relief in providing livelihood to us. Many people from Sri Lankan camps also worked at the mill,” he added.  

It was in 1990s, the problem of mismanagement started in the mill when some political leaders for their personal benefits installed machines which were of poor quality at the mill, he said.  

Further, pointing to this as one of the reasons, Mr. Kalyanasundaram said that it was the beginning of the end of the mill.