‘Can’t afford to refill LPG cylinder’: Workers’ exodus sends alarm bells ringing in Surat’s textile industry

FOR SEVERAL days now, Subhash Thakur, a dyeing and printing mill worker here, has been struggling to feed his family of four.

His struggle is not caused by unemployment, but the inflation that is a result of an LPG or liquefied petroleum gas crisis that has impacted people far and wide.

Thakur, until recently, lived at a rented accommodation in Pandesara with his wife and two kids.

Among his belongings is a five-kilogram gas cylinder that he “cannot afford to refill” now.

Mostly from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Odisha, the exodus of several workers has already left the expansive textile sector in Surat reeling.

Several factories have even begun shutting down for a day or two in a week to cope with the manpower shortage.

While one of their associations has started a community meal service, several mills, too, have begun offering food to their workers.

Also, the district administration has deployed officials to 75 gas agencies to prevent black marketing of LPG cylinders.

Commenting on the quandary looming over the industry, South Gujarat Textile Processing Association president Jitubhai Vakharia said: “At present, it is a tough situation for the workers due to the LPG crisis.

Many don’t have an LPG cylinder registration book.

They live in rented houses.

Some mills are shutting down for one or two days every week.

As Navratri and the wedding season are around the corner, we are somehow ensuring that the factories keep working.”
Vakharia said the kitchen had been “making food for over 5,000 people every day.”
A mill owner in Surat, Rahul Agrawal said the kitchen at his facility had been providing food for Rs 20 per meal.

“We want to retain our workers.

We don’t have any manpower shortage in our mill, where production is also optimal.”
Labour contractor Kamran Usmani said, “To overcome the present situation, we buy wooden logs from Mandvi (Surat) and give them to workers so that they can cook.

Daily, we order five public carrier vehicles loaded with wooden logs.”
Sources in the district collectorate said there are 55 LPG gas agencies in Surat city and 20 more in rural areas.

Officials deployed there maintain a record of the current stock and ensure that gas cylinders are supplied to consumers, they added.

Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli.

With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs.

Expertise
Industrial & Economic Beat: Based in the "Diamond City," Saiyed offers expert reporting on the diamond and textile industries.

His work tracks global market shifts (such as De Beers production changes), local trade policies, and the socio-economic challenges facing the millions of workers in Surat’s manufacturing hubs.

Civic & Infrastructure Coverage: He consistently reports on urban development and public safety in Surat, including:
Traffic & Urban Planning: Monitoring the city's 13-fold increase in traffic violations and the implementation of new municipal drives.

Public Safety: Investigative reporting on infrastructure failures, fire safety NOC compliance in schools and commercial buildings, and Metro rail progress.

Political Reporting: Tracking the shifting dynamics between the BJP, Congress, and AAP in South Gujarat and the neighboring Union Territories (Daman, Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli).

Crime beat: Armed with a good source network Saiyed has been able to bring out the human side of crime stories in his region ...

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