Demo, GST locks Aligarh's fate
April 16, 2019  16:25
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Demonetisation locked their destiny into airless rooms where they do double the work for less than half the pay, say daily wage workers in this western Uttar Pradesh town's famous 'Tala Nagri'.


Aligarh has been synonymous with locks since the Mughal era but the once thriving lock industry, employing more than one lakh people, has been brought to its knees with demonetisation and GST dealing it a body blow. So, Shanti, who spends nine hours a day with four others making locks in 'Tala Nagri' (lock town), finds herself earning dramatically less than she did before November 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetised high value currency notes. Four machines around her lie vacant.


"They have been lying vacant for the past three years since demonetisation. Now I do the work of two at Rs 150 per day,' she said. Before November 2016, she said she earned Rs 400 per day. Her colleague Jamal said his vote in the elections on April 18 will be for the candidate that can help them improve their lives. 


"These are poll issues for us. We will be voting keeping in mind the brunt we bore because of demonetisation and high GST rate,' he said. Jamal and Shanti are among the semi-skilled labourers not eligible for minimum salary because the company she works for has less than 20 employees. The minimum salary for workers like her in a cottage industry with over 20 employees is Rs 324 per day. 


"You get nothing from Rs 150 per day. My house is three kilometres away and I have to walk because e-rickshaws take Rs 20 one way. I tried getting a job elsewhere but the lock companies are so badly hit by GST that they cannot afford more workers like us," Shanti said. 


The legendary lock industry of Aligarh, about 150 km from the national capital Delhi, accounts for almost 75 per cent of the production in the country, earning the city the sobriquet 'Tala Nagri' and making the 'Aligarh lock' a byword for quality and also a distinct brand. 


"We don't have automation in our industry despite the talk of make in India and digitisation and we are dependent on labour intensive machines. The end result is that we are not able to compete with China. -- PTI


Image: Workers at a lock factory in Aligarh
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