Despite being internationally recognised as the ‘Handloom City’ and home to one of India’s largest textile export clusters, Panipat’s industrial areas continue to grapple with poor civic infrastructure. Defunct streetlights, inadequate sanitation, encroached green belts, damaged roads and an inefficient drainage network have become persistent concerns for industrialists, who say these shortcomings are affecting business and worker safety.
The crisis comes at a time when the city’s handloom and textile industry is already under pressure due to the tariff war that began in April this year.
Panipat’s textile industry has an annual turnover of nearly Rs 60,000 crore, of which exports account for around Rs 20,000 crore. Nearly 500 exporters ship handloom and powerloom products — including bath mats, floor coverings, rugs, carpets, bedsheets, towels, curtains, sofa fabrics, cushions, blankets, mattresses and puffs — to markets across the world.
To support industrial growth, the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), then known as HUDA, developed Industrial Sectors 29 (Parts I and II) and Sector 25 (Parts I and II). These sectors are now maintained by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).
Sector 29 Part II, commonly known as the dyeing sector, was developed in 2003 with 779 plots to relocate dyeing units that were earlier operating from different parts of the city. The industries receive canal water for dyeing operations, but entrepreneurs allege that the sector still lacks several essential civic amenities.
Vikas Chachra, executive member, Panipat Dyers’ Association, said, “Sector 29 Part II is the only sector where the department forgot to provide potable water facility to the plot holders at the time of establishment. As many as 750 industries are functioning here and thousands of people work in the area, but there has been no potable water facility since its establishment. Ironically, HSVP has been generating potable water bills without supplying potable water.”
He added, “The department is now digging roads to lay water pipelines, but in the process it has damaged roads, raw water pipelines and sewage connections. Industrial water is flowing onto the roads. Sewage is not cleaned regularly, while cleanliness and sanitation continue to remain major issues.”
Nitin Arora, president, Panipat Dyers’ Association, said, “The industrial area sinks into darkness every evening because there are no functional streetlights, leading to a rise in criminal activities. There have been no proper streetlights since the sector was established.”
Referring to a recent incident, he said, “A chief manager was recently murdered in Sector 25 by three miscreants. Though the police arrested the accused, it is not an isolated incident. Snatching of factory workers has become routine in industrial areas because of defunct street lights.”
Sanjeev Garg, secretary, Sector 25 Part II, said roads had been repaired in some areas, but streetlights had remained non-functional for a long time.
“Encroachments on green belts, industrial plots and roads are also a major issue. Though a sanitation contract has been awarded, shortage of manpower means roads are cleaned only once a week in Sector 25,” he said.
He, however, added that HSIIDC had undertaken cleaning of stormwater drains ahead of the monsoon.
Vinod Dhamija, chairman, Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Panipat Chapter, said, “Almost all industrial areas in the textile city are in poor condition. Industrialists, whether in the developed sectors or the old industrial area, are facing problems because of the lack of basic amenities. Power tripping has increased, roads are damaged, streetlights are defunct and drainage systems remain blocked.”
“Even after just 10 minutes of rain, roads get waterlogged and industrial activity comes to a halt,” he added.
Echoing similar concerns, Rajiv Aggarwal, secretary, Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Panipat Chapter, said, “Industrialists are facing numerous problems because of the huge gap in providing basic infrastructure. We have raised these issues at every level, but nothing has changed. Industrialists are still crying for basic amenities such as better roads, functional streetlights, uninterrupted power supply and proper sewerage.”