Five knitwear associations from Ludhiana, have filed a petition with India’s Supreme Court seeking waiver of interest on loans. The five associations have around 2000 members and the accumulated value of loans availed by the sector is around R3,500 crore. They pay around R23 crore as interest on a monthly basis, according to a report in the Hindustan Times today.

Reeling under losses and a slowdown post the lockdown, the five knitwear associations of Ludhiana, the hub of knitwear and hosiery, have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking waiver of interests on the loans availed by the sector. The hearing of the case has been scheduled for August 14.

According to the report, the associations include Bajwa Nagar Hosiery Association, Knitwear Club, Ludhiana Woollen Manufacturer Association, Bahadurke Textiles and Knitwear Association, and Knitwear and Apparel Manufacturers Association of Ludhiana.

President of Bajwa Nagar Knitwear Club, Darshan Dawar told the Hindustan Times: “Small and micro enterprises have been hit badly due to the lockdown and we have suffered losses running in crores. The sector has not been able to revive itself post lockdown due to shortage of labour and low demand. We have demanded that the government should waive off the interests to bring some relief to the sector.”

“We were not able to sell the stock manufactured for summers due to the lockdown and now, we are also unable to manufacture products for winters due to shortage of labour. No relief has been provided to the sector and many units are on the brink of a shutdown. Due to this, we were forced to move the Supreme Court,” added Dawar.

Advocates Ashish Virmani and Himanshu Dhuper said: “The five associations have around 2,000 members and the accumulated value of loans availed by the is around R3,500 crore. They pay around R23 crore as interest on a monthly basis. The associations have demanded that the bank interests be waived for six months starting from March this year, and after six months, a moratorium of next six months should be given for payment. Two similar petitions have also been filed by two other associations.”

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