Migrants continue to flee Nashik

Nashik, Feb 13: The exodus of north Indians to their homes still continues, affecting the industries.

People from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar work in most of the industries in Ambad and Satpur.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's possible arrest has provoked a heightened attack on the north Indians here and they are fleeing the city.

North Indians are leaving the city by every possible means -- buses, trains and even private vehicles.

An estimated 10,000 people have left the city during the last 48 hours.

The railway station here was flooded with migrants throughout the day yesterday and there was hardly any place even to stand on the platforms at the Nashik Road railway station.

Railway officials said that such a large crowd of people has been witnessed after a long time since the Sinhasta Kumbha Mela in 2003-2004.

Long queues of people were seen at the ticket winows. Trains such as the Bhagalpur Express, Patna Express, Superfast Janta, Gorakhpur via Lucknow Mahanagar and other North India bound trains were overcrowded with these migrants.

The worst sufferer of this migration are the industries, especially in the Ambad MIDC area. Nearly 40 per cent small and medium industries in the Ambad Industrial area have been closed due to this migration.

''We are worried about completing the March-end schedule of production and fulfilling orders. There are solutions for financial and natural crisis but, we do not have any solution for this unexpected crisis,'' Ambad Industries and Manufacturers Association (AIMA) President Dhanraj Bele told UNI today.

''We are worried about replacing the workers and training them. Though the production has come to a standstill, we have to pay telephone, electricity and water bills. We cannot avoid these expenditures,'' Mr Bele said.

He said if the same situation continued for three four days more, it will affect even the Marathi workers as the production will come to a standstill and the other workers will have no work in dearth of raw material.

Though these small industries are ancilliary units, providing material to big industries such as Mahindra and Mahindra, MICO, Crompton Greaves and VIP industries, crises in these units will affect the work of the big industries.

Mr Bele estimated the loss to the industries due to the prevailing crises to the tune of Rs 500-700 crore till now.

Meanwhile, heavy industries such as the steel industry in Satpur, Ambad and Sinnar are also facing a similar problem as people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan work in these industries because of their physical ability to work.

UNI