Gurugram tries to strike balance between reviving economy & keeping workers safe

GURUGRAM: According to the latest data available with the Gurugram District Magistrate’s office, 12,020 industrial units have now been allowed to reopen in the district, where more than 17 lakh workers are enlisted to be working.

While this massive bid to reopen the district points towards the desperation to restart the economy, which has been badly hit due to the COVID-19 lockdown, district authorities have issued detailed guidelines to ensure the safety of workers and are walking a tightrope between reviving the economy and curbing transmission of the virus.

While authorities here had received 18,557 applications from industrial units seeking permission to reopen, 2,242 of these were rejected and 4,229 applications have been put under consideration. Around 75 per cent of the industrial units permitted to reopen is in urban areas — which have a higher population density than rural areas where only 25 per cent of the permitted units are located.

And of the total 17,07760 workers who will soon start working at these industrial units, 77 per cent will be working in Gurugram city alone, posing a serious challenge for authorities in terms of curbing the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Around 3,86,061 workers are enlisted at units in rural areas.

The District Administration has issued formal guidelines that need to be practiced by the factory owners to safeguard the workers against COVID-19. Some of these guidelines include housing for employees within the industrial complex, safe transportation of the workers, shift-rotations, screen-ing of workers at the entry and provision of PPE kits. It has also been mentioned to factory owners that door handles should be removed at workplaces so that the least contact is involved and to keep sanitisers at public places. They have also been directed to ensure that large gatherings do not place. However, what makes things easier for authorities is that of the 12k units, a large majority of more than 5,800 are units with 25 workers or less. In addition, 4,294 of these units have 25 to 200 workers and 1,892 units have over 200 workers. The second and third categories of units seem to pose the highest risk in terms of aiding transmission if guidelines are not followed.