Over 1000 families to be impacted as farm laws protest forces Adani Ludhiana unit to shut

Adani Logistics Ltd filed an affidavit before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 31 wherein they submitted that the entity intended to terminate business operations at its road/rail-linked multi-modal logistics park at Kilaraipur in Ludhiana. The shuttering of the business unit is a consequence of the ongoing farmers' protest in the state and the ensuing blockade since August 9, 2020. According to Adani Group, the Kilaraipur unit had been dysfunctional and incurring huge losses owing to the prolonged disruptions in the area.

"The Adani Group was hopeful that farmers' blockade would be removed so we could resume operations safely," a source stated to Republic.

As per sources, the termination was declared after State authorities submitted repetitive and identical status reports since January 21, 2021, and failed to take cognizance of the blockades. The status report enumerated the presence of farmers' infants, children, women and the elderly on main roads and the main gate of the Adani-operated logistics park. Police and local civic bodies were unable to convince farmers and their families to let daily activities run or make way for others. The Punjab police, state authorities or even the government failed to evacuate the settlers and heavy vehicles owing to the ongoing farmers' agitation against the three contentious farm laws passed in September 2020. The protest continues despite eleven rounds of talks between the Centre and farmers represented by the farm unions; the mediation is inconclusive even today.  

Farmers' protest disrupts business & livelihood

Notably, the closure of business operations at Adani Group's unit will outrightly impact jobs/wages of 400 persons directly and about a thousand families indirectly, the source added. Termination of a corporate entity doesn't not only have a monetary impact on the company but an adverse effect on the employment and opportunities of any region. Especially, disruption in the employment of daily wage labours can impact their families and basic livelihood boundlessly.

Factory workers and staff personnel did not only face issues while commuting to their workplace but were apprehensive of clashes and violence that generally broke out of the ongoing farmers' protests. This affected the entity as salaries continued to be drawn, further maintenance demanded monetary solutions too. 

Since January 2021, the protesters have blocked the main gate of many factories and setups like that of Adani's multi-modal logistics park at Kilaraipur. Media reports and images suggest tractors, trolleys, bulky lorries and countless tents/cabins have been installed to hinder the movement of goods and personnel and further halt operations.

Adani shuts logistics park in Ludhiana after 7-month blockade due to farmers protest

The ongoing protests have dealt a major blow to the interconnected economies of the region, including those of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Despite being one of the most developed states in terms of logistics, Punjab has received no substantial project or investment in the last year given the disruptions in the state, as per sources. The ongoing farmers' protest has led to supply chain disengagements which will continue to affect economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as well.

The road/rail/air-linked multi-modal logistics park at Kilaraipur spreads over 80 acres and has been in operation since 2017 to cater to industrial logistics requirements in and around Punjab. 

"The state administration was not able to remove the blockade and allow the park to operate, the Adani Group terminated the operation as it cannot continue to sustain losses and continue to pay wages to employees any longer," the source stated.

The overall monetary loss and recovery is estimated at Rs 7,500 crore, he added,

In March, Adani Group had filed a writ petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to protect their trade rights and fundamental right to carry out business; however, the police and authorities failed to end the blockade. In turn, the state authorities to date had only filed status reports before the Court which highlighted disruptions by farmers and the presence of women and children in the area. State or Central governments have not been able to remove the blockade.

"The Group paid full wages to its staff and payments to contractual vendors were updated hoping the High Court and State of Punjab would take necessary actions for the business to operate," source added.

According to an estimate by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in December 2020 (5 months since the farmers began protesting) about 30 to 40 per cent of the goods traded to the national capital had been affected by the movement of protesting farmers around Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. That number is likely to have shot up since, as the farmers intensified their protest.

(Image Credit: Adani Group's website)