Industrial body member to test poll waters in Kovai seat
Fed up with years of neglect and empty promises from political parties, an industrial body in Coimbatore has decided to enter the poll fray to highlight issues faced by the ailing industrial sector.
“The woes of the industrial sector compounded during COVID-19, when several units faced closure. Therefore, many owners of industrial units became workers and also resulted in huge job loss. During every poll, major political parties listen to our grievances and assure remedy, but they conveniently forget to address our concerns after coming to power. Hence, it was decided to take it upon ourselves to face the polls to highlight our issues. Unless, the industrial sector has a separate vote bank, our voices will continue to remain unheard and problems unsolved,” said K Maniraj, president of Kovai Power Driven Pumps and Spares Manufacturers Association (KOPMA), who is jumping into the poll bandwagon from Singanallur constituency in Coimbatore. The entrepreneur turned politician claimed to have chosen to test his electoral waters from the labour dominated Singanallur constituency, which has a sizable number of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). “This constituency has a good support base with more than one lakh population of workers and owners from the MSME sector. We have also begun our campaign by distributing pamphlets highlighting the issues faced by the industries,” he added. With the campaign pace picking up heat, the industrialist hopes that other industry groups would also follow suit to carry forward their demands in unison.
“Any of our major grievances like high GST, non-sanctioning of loans by banks for industrial entrepreneurs, steady increase in prices of raw materials, revival of motor and pump testing laboratory at SITRA were not addressed by both the state and Union governments. Even tenders for government departments are given only to big corporate firms by neglecting the MSMEs, which has been reliant only on the domestic market,” Maniraj added. Though, the primary reason for the industrial body to test its electoral waters is to resolve issues plaguing the industrial sector, the industrialist has also promised to work for the common public by listing out the long pending issues prevailing in the constituency.