From being a symbol of economic prosperity until just two years ago, Sriperumbudur’s slide down to become a synonym for unemployment and economic slowdown has been quick. This satellite industrial hub, once regarded as the Detroit of India, threatens to follow in the footsteps of Motown, now only a pale shadow of its former self after the global economic meltdown.
This small town outside Chennai came to limelight 25 years ago on May 21, 1991, when former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election campaign. From a town known only for the assassination of the Congress leader to becoming a bustling industrial hub, the tale of transformation began in 1995 when a bevy of marquee industry names set up base here.
First among the auto majors to land here was Hyundai in 1995-96. Others, including Ford, followed over the years, making Sriperumbudur one of the largest automobile hubs. By the turn of the 20th century, the SIPCOT industrial park came up at Irungattukottai.
Soon enough, leading electronics manufacturers came to set up shops here. The most prominent among them was Nokia, the Finnish giant that led the global mobile phone handset industry during the pre-smartphone era. It established its largest manufacturing plant here. Huge recruitment drives were organised for people from 300 villages. Once a sleepy agrarian region, it soon became a working class neighbourhood. Women from the SC Paraiyar caste, who were agricultural workers earning Rs 100-150 till then, joined firms like Nokia for a month salary of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000.
But this did not last. As the smartphone era dawned, Nokia, which had failed to adapt, was forced to the backfoot. Then came the tax dispute with the Indian authorities that played out at various levels, before the company finally decided to pull the plug on the plant in November 2014. About 10 other smaller units, which used to supply components to the manufacturer, followed suit.
The impact was huge. About 8,000 full-time workers, most of them in their early 20s, were forced to ‘retire’. Besides, 25,000 ancillary workers, too, were left in the lurch overnight.
“While working there, I was drawing a handsome salary and even obtained a bank loan of about Rs 6 lakh to renovate my house and marry off my sister. But now, all I earn is Rs 8,500. My 60-year-old father drives an auto post-retirement to repay this debt,” says K Saravanan, a Nokia ex-employee from Sengadu village.
When he joined other colleagues in searching for jobs, none was ready to employ Nokia employees. “I had to remove the work experience from resume to get even this job,” says Saravanan, now a technical assistant at a roof manufacturing plant.
There are other issues as well. The residents want a status upgrade for their locality, which has been a long-standing demand. “Sriperumbudur continues to function as a town panchayat. It has not been upgraded as a municipality, like the neighbouring Poonamallee. No representative has raised this issue in the Assembly,” says S Sundaram.
Ray of Hope Amid Pall of Gloom
In its heyday, Sriperambudur saw an influx of workers from other parts of the State. But now, people from here move to other districts and states in search of better prospects. The impact of this reverse migration is evident on hotels, mansions, tea shops and small markets near these shuttered units. With fall in purchasing power due to meltdown, this industrial hub has lost its sheen, say residents. Like the big firm, these too closed down due to poor business. But on the brighter side, there still is a ray of hope with the proposed auto rail hub, the first such facility in India; a greenfield airport; and an ESIC hospital in and around Sriperumbudur