West Bengal’s jute industry barely hanging by a thread

The crisis in West Bengal’s jute industry is getting exacerbated, with several mills suspending operations this year. Shiv Sahay Singh visits mills along both banks of the Hooghly to understand the growing despair of workers, owners and farmers

On Eid, after a brief spell of rain, the crowd that had assembled outside the Ishaque Sardar Masjid in Kankinara Nayabazar area in the morning hurriedly dispersed. After two years of pandemic-induced restrictions, this Eid was expected to be celebrated with pomp. But though people hugged and greeted each other in front of the picturesque mosque after the morning prayers, there was no palpable joy accompanying festivities.

“Livelihood is the biggest source of happiness,” said Wahid Kamal, rolling up the sleeves of his fraying grey shirt and looking at his six-year-old son Atif, who was wearing a new pink shirt. Wahid and Mohammad Guddu, both workers at the Reliance Jute Mill at Bhatpara in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, explained how difficult the holy month of Ramzan had been this year after the mill closed, leaving workers with no income.

Inside the jute mill quarters, the mood was even less celebratory. Ejaz Afjal said he lent some money to his neighbour, a father of three, who, like Ejaz, has been out of work for the past few months. It was on the morning of January 27, 2022 that Wahid, Mohammad, Ejaz and nearly 5,000 workers went to Reliance Jute Mill to find a notice hanging on the gate announcing temporary suspension of work.

The large iron gates at the entrance of the century-old jute mills on both banks of the river Hooghly are forbidding. They tend to reflect the mood of the area: during elections, posters of competing political parties are affixed to these gates; every autumn, banners and advertisements on Durga Puja adorn them; during general strikes, messages from trade unions cover them; and occasionally, small notices on white paper, announcing suspension of work, are stuck on them. The people of this region, which has witnessed terrible riots and intense political battles during the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly polls, fear these white notices the most.

Mill workers saw the notice waiting for them on January 1, 2022 on the large yellow painted gate of the Gondolpara Jute Mill. This sprawling mill is located near Chandannagar, on the western bank of the river, not far from the erstwhile French settlement. On March 31, the gate of the mill bore a rather unusual notice, which said that the “majdoor lines will get two more hours of electricity” — a small relief for those living there. Ever since the mill closed, power supply at the quarters had been irregular, totalling 12-14 hours a day.

Without power on a hot day, a young couple, Kanai Shaw and Renu Shaw, sat inside their small cubicle-like quarters. Renu rocked her five-month-old son, lying on the hammock, to sleep, while her four-year-old daughter ate a frugal lunch. An emaciated Renu said her husband had been out of work for the past few months. The family was hungry and helpless.

Though suspension of work is no new phenomenon, recent months have been especially difficult. Between November 2021 and April 2022, at least 12 mills along both the banks of the river downed their shutters, putting 60,000 workers out of jobs in one fell swoop. The workers of Reliance Jute Mill on the eastern bank and Gondolpara Jute Mill on the western bank all lost their jobs when this decision was taken.