Two former presidents of the Chamber of Industries met with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his residence in Gorakhnath Temple Complex, to share their concerns about the ailing garment industry’s conditions. Vishnu Ajit Saria and S.K. Agarwal presented a written memorandum, requesting that the Chief Minster take action for revitalising the garment industry.
They noted that in the last 8 years, Gorakhpur has genuinely developed in the industrial sector and attracted around Rs. 15,000 crore (US $ 1.8 billion) in industrial investments, including the facilities that produce garments. Other than agriculture in the manufacturing sector, there was the most amount of employment generated by the garment industry. It should be noted that Gorakhpur is also a key supplier of school uniforms, and for the last two years have suffered, as there has been no government procurement for the area to help the local manufacturers.
Furthermore, they suggested establishing a quality testing laboratory in Gorakhpur with the MSME department based on an existing laboratory in Ghaziabad.
The stakeholders asked for a policy to support the garment industry and indicate that it generates high levels of employment with low levels of investment. They then suggested that uniforms for government schools could be sourced from local garment units that will generate demand to sustain activity.
They also indicated that 5,500 acres of land has been earmarked in Dhuriyapar for industry, but development of this land has been sluggish due to the fact that town planners and engineering staff appear to be absent from the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA).
