In a major push to revive West Bengal’s struggling jute industry, the state’s new Labour Minister, Arjun Singh, has initiated steps to reopen three closed jute mills in the Barrackpore industrial belt in North 24 Parganas, potentially restoring livelihoods for nearly 7,500 workers.
The Baranagar Jute Mill, Jagaddal Jute Industries, and Emco Jute Mill are set to resume operations within the next two to three days following the resolution of a prolonged deadlock. The breakthrough came after a high-level meeting held on Tuesday at the Labour Department in Kolkata’s New Secretariat.
The meeting, chaired by the Labour Minister, included separate discussions with representatives of the mill management and trade unions. Senior officials present included Special Labour Commissioner Ashis Sarkar, Additional Labour Commissioner Rajat Pal, Deputy Labour Commissioner (Barrackpore) Manoj Saha, and Assistant Labour Commissioner Hritwik Mukherjee.
According to officials, notices regarding the reopening will be issued at the factory gates shortly. Initial operations will begin with maintenance work, followed by a phased resumption of full-scale production.
The move is part of a broader initiative by the state government to rejuvenate the jute sector, in alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Viksit Bharat, Viksit Bangla” and under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Upon assuming office, Singh had set a target of reopening around ten closed jute mills and restoring employment to over 20,000 workers.
Earlier, on Monday, Singh announced via the social media platform X that the deadlock over the Naihati Jute Mill—shut since June 6—had also been resolved. A meeting attended by Minister of State for Labour Bhaskar Bhattacharya and departmental officials decided that the mill would resume operations from July 3.
In addition, a separate meeting was held regarding the closed Bharat Jute Mill in Dasnagar, Howrah. The Labour Minister has ordered an immediate inspection to address issues related to pending wages, gratuity, and provident fund (PF) dues of workers.
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