Adani Logistics has terminated business operations at road/rail-linked multi-modal logistics park at Ludhiana’s Kilaraipur owing to blockade by farmers protest. According to a report, the closure of business operations at Adani Group’s unit will outrightly impact jobs/wages of 400 persons directly and about a 1000 families indirectly.
It would also mean a loss to the exchequer in the form of Railway haulage, GST, customs duties and other taxes to the tune of ₹700 Crores. It is further estimated that the overall impact on the economy will be around ₹7,000 crore after the closure.
Interestingly, just a day before Adani Logistics Ltd decided to shut its Ludhiana logistics park due to the blockade by the protesters, Adani Enterprises had purchased a plot of land in Noida, UP, to set up a data centre. A Noida authority official said that the project would generate 1,350 employment opportunities and fetch a revenue of ₹103.41 crore to the Authority.
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 filed a writ petition at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in March 2021 seeking directions to the state authorities to vacate the blockade but it had yielded no result.
“Owing to the blockade, the ICD business has come to a complete standstill. Despite this, the Group has continuously paid full wages to its staff and payments to vendors in the hope that the High Court and the State of Punjab will take action for removal of the blockade, however, as the state administration was not able to remove the blockade and allow the ICD to continue operations, the Adani Group has decided to close the business operation at ICD Kilaraipur as it cannot sustain losses and continue to pay wages to employees any longer,” a person briefed on the development.
The protestors have blocked the main gate and have also parked a tractor-trailer in front of the gate, preventing the movement of vehicles through the gate.
Factory workers and staff personnel had to face regular while commuting to their workplace. Beyond that, there were often clashes and violence that generally broke out of the ongoing farmers’ protests.
