Textile mills have been downing shutters at regular intervals in Mumbai.
The metropolis, once known as the Manchester of the East, as it could rival the British citys vibrant textile industry, can no longer boast of its past legacy.
With Century Textiles closing its operations in Worli on Wednesday, the whir of the machines has fallen silent. As major textile players, such as Raymond, Welspun and Century, move their plants to other states, the textiles hub has shifted from Mumbai to Gujarat.
Surat is fast turning into a centre for synthetic textiles and Ahmedabad has become the hub for cotton textiles. Most denim facilities too are in Gujarat.
Input costs, high taxes, land costs and lack of government support are bringing the mills to a halt in Mumbai. Besides, real estate has become so valuable in Mumbai that it may often make better business sense to tear down a mill and construct buildings on its land.
The cost of inputs has increased manifold, leaving Mumbais mills far less competitive compared with the new upcoming mills in other parts of the country. It is economically not viable to set up manufacturing facilities in metros, said R K Dalmia, president, Century Textiles and Industries.
Century is setting up a greenfield composite mill in Bharuch, Gujarat. It will have a capacity of 30 million metre and will be in operation by the first quarter of 2008.
Gujarat, being one of the largest producers of cotton, will help the textiles players in getting raw material and reducing the freight charges. The low cost and high availability of skilled labour are other factors making Gujarat an obvious choice, not to forget the rising land prices in Mumbai, said Vikram Rao, director, Aditya Birla Management Corporation.
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