ERNAKULAM: While getting ready for the day’s work, P V Unnirajan, a head-load worker, is having a heated argument with his colleague E K Raju over assembly elections. Sitting at the coordination committee office of all trade unions at Binanipuram in Eloor, others are all ears to their conversation, while pitching in with occasional banter.
“It’s been years of challenges for us. Irrespective of political affiliation, all have been hit by demonetisation, consecutive floods, Covid and the lockdown. Most of us are clueless about the way forward. With our familial responsibilities, we have gone through immense struggles,” said Unnirajan.
The sexagenarian’s words reflect how things have gone from bad to worse in the industrial belt of Ernakulam. The Eloor-Edayar stretch alone houses 282 factories. With another assembly poll round the corner, they hope for a change in fortune.
“Almost every natural calamity that happened in the last five years has had an impact on us. The situation became even bleaker during the lockdown, though it turned into a boon for many companies to downsize their staff strength and reduce salaries. As having a job itself has become a luxury, we are forced to remain contented with our situation,” an employee of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd said on the condition of anonymity.
Straddling the assembly constituencies of Aluva and Kalamassery, the industrial units in this belt and their employees are pinning their hopes on the new representatives to address their plight. “Establishing new industrial units and facilitating better amenities for the existing ones will bring a difference to the area. Along with a part-time courier service, I’m running a small-scale workshop. But the business went downhill last year. The new government should provide financial support to small-scale entrepreneurs like us to generate better employment opportunities,” said Sivan Kaithavalappil, resident of Kalamassery.
Lack of infrastructure development is another issue in the area. “We have been demanding better roads for more than a decade. Other than occasional patch works, nothing has happened on the major roads here. When minor roads in other constituencies were transformed into high-class paths, we are forced to live with poor roads. Despite housing dozens of industries on the stretch, even roads that were damaged during the 2018 deluge remain unrepaired. There needs to be a change in the situation,” said 66-year-old Aboobacker K M, a shop owner of Kadungalloor panchayat.
As the Eloor-Edayar industrial belt was declared a toxic hotspot by the environment group, Greenpeace, in 2003, pollution is a pressing topic in the region. “Pollution of water, air and soil has always been an issue here. But nobody is bothered about the plight of ordinary citizens. Other than being a cash cow for pollution control board officials, the polluting companies have never done any thing to address the plight of the local residents. Unfortunately, no elected member has pushed for effective treatment plants in these units,” said Hamza V S, a resident near the Periyar at Udyogamandal. While Muslim League’s V E Abdul Gafoor, son of sitting MLA V K Ebrahim Kunju, who is facing the Palarivattom flyover graft case, is taking on former Rajya Sabha MP P Rajeev of CPM in Kalamassery, it is a battle between UDF’s sitting MLA Anwar Sadath and 34-four-year-old architect and LDF-backed independent Shelna Nishad in Aluva. The NDA has fielded P S Jayaraj and M N Gopi in these seats, respectively.
Kiran narayanan
Reporting from Ernakulam