Assam ban rattles Surat’s power loom industry

Panic has set in among the power looms weavers in Surat following the ban on the sale of power loom-manufactured Mekhela Sador and Gamusa by the Assam government. Surat has been a major supplier to Assam for quite some time, making for over 60% of the North Eastern state’s consumption.

Speaking to ET from Surat, the general secretary of the Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTA), Champalal Bothra, said the sudden ban “on one hand, will impact around 700 to 800 traders and 300 to 400 weavers along with the labourers associated with the looms producing Mekhala Sador in Surat that has a turnover of around `3,000 crore annually.”
He added that many traders in Assam who had stocked the already produced goods are now looking at returning the same. “So, it is a double-whammy for us.” “We have met Darshana Jardosh, MoS Textiles, and she has heard us out,” Bothra said. “But there has been no clear resolution so far.”