Crackdown could hit lakhs of employees in leather industries
Your favourite Kolhapuri chappal and the fancy leather handbag may get costlier if the crackdown against illegal slaughterhouses and meat trade continues in UP and spreads to other states in the country.
While cow slaughter is banned across the country, barring a couple of states, the drive against illegal abattoirs has hit the buffalo meat and skin trade badly. Buffalo hide is used in a number of industries.
Since demonetisation, the leather industry that has been growing at a rate of 15% , has seen a production cut of 40% Here is how the ban would affect different sectors in different states.
The state where the Yogi Adityanath government launched a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses is the main source of buffalo hide. In Kanpur’s Penchbagh alone, for instance, around 40,000 people are employed in 600 leather industries. While half of these units closed down in the aftermath of demonetisation, 100 others had to down shutters after the ban. In Agra too, the tourism and footwear industry is going through hard times. The famous handcrafted footwear made in Kolhapur town will bear the brunt of the ban. The chappal industries in Kolhapur employ over 6,000 people.
Kolhapur has seen large-scale unemployment since 2015 with the ban on slaughter of cow, bull, bullock and buffalo.
From 6,000 workers in 2015, only 500 workers remain now.
Various allied sectors are vital to the running of local economy in West Bengal, one of the few states where cow slaughter is allowed along with that of ox and buffalo.
Hide processors, leather industry, footwear industry, restaurants thrive on the business.
Apart from workers of leather goods, the unorganised sector has over 10 lakh labourers.
The leather industry in Jalandhar is widely dependent on buffalo hides. Traders expect rates to go up by around 30%. Over 10,000 employees at 60 tanneries are expected to be affected.
Besides, around 70 sports goods units will be directly or indirectly affected.
Volleyball, soft leather items in cricket and baseball are all made of leather.
Bringing back memories of the February 2012 Park Street rape, a 30-year-old woman was allegedly molested and beaten up inside a posh nightclub by a group of drunk men in Park Street. The women’s husband was also roughed up by the attackers.
The accused men reportedly assaulted the couple because they ventured into a reserved area.
A complaint was registered at Shakespeare Sarani police station following which an FIR was lodged. No arrests have been made so far.
“The men were drunk. They shouted at us for stepping in some reserved area. They then assaulted me and touched me inappropriately. They molested me,” said the victim speaking with media.
“No one came forward to save me. They just stood there and watched. Ultimately the bouncers and some officials of the night club came to our rescue,” the victim added.
“We are trying to identify the accused. We have got the CCTV footage. We have slapped IPC sections 354, 354 A, 323,341 and 34 of IPC relating to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, unwelcome comment or sexual overtones, voluntarily causing hurt and others,” said a senior police officer.
The couple who are residents of Alipore, visited the night club on Park street at around 1 am on Saturday.
“The man molested me in front of others and tried to push me down to the floor. After I fell, he continued hitting me over and over again. Three others - whom I could not identity - joined in. My husband tried to come forward to save me. He was hit and one of the men tried to throttle him using the gold chain he was wearing...” the victim said.
The club’s bouncers and the owner rushed to the couple’s rescue, she said. She claimed that she was receiving calls urging her to withdraw the case.
It was on February 6, an Anglo Indian women was picked up from a nightclub on the pretext of a lift home. Then she was raped in a moving car and later thrown out.
THE COUPLE WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF ALIPORE, REPORTEDLY VISITED THE NIGHT CLUB ON PARK STREET AT AROUND 1 AM ON SATURDAY