Amid COVID-19 lockdown, 4,802 industrial units operational in Jammu & Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday (May 12) said that as many as 4,802 industrial units are operational during the lockdown in two regions of the Union Territory. As the administration is fighting to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, it has implemented several precautionary and preventive measures, a spokesman said.

The lockdown that was imposed from March 25 has left a deep impact on the social and economic sectors. “As of today 4,802 units, (2,727 in Jammu division and 2,075 in Kashmir division ) are functional including large scale , MSMEs and micro enterprises”, the spokesman said.

As the administration is dealing with ensuring the safe return of stranded people of J&K from other parts of the country, at the same time it is working 24X7 to ensure that the economic impact due to lockdown is minimised, he said. The Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Jammu and Kashmir is leaving no stone unturned to mitigate the hardship being faced by the public, he added.

Speaking about the initiatives, Director Industries and Commerce, Anoo Malhotra, said that the department is ensuring hassle-free operation of food processing industries, flour mills, milk product industries etc. She further informed that the agro industries have been allowed to function during these times, considering the seasonal nature of the agricultural sector.

In addition to these the pharma units have also been allowed to run to ensure there is no shortage of life saving medicines in the market. Packaging units which cater to essential commodity units are also kept functional. The government has allowed industries to operate only after ensuring strict enforcement of social distancing norms in factory premises, the spokesman said.

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The I&C department has allowed units to work at 30 per cent of their staff strength, except for the pharma sector which has been allowed to function at 60 per cent of its staff strength, he added. As per the guidelines being followed by industries, separate areas have been earmarked for unloading and loading of trucks bringing raw material from outside the UT