The Tribune, December 1, 1998
Violence scares industry
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service
GURGAON, Nov 30 — A spate of robberies and violent incidents in the recent past has set alarm bells ringing in this industrial township with a cross-section of industrialists saying this trend could hurt investments in Haryana.
During the past week alone, the township has witnessed a major robbery in the showroom of an industrial house and three murders.
These incidents go against the assertion of the Haryana Chief Secretary on November 25 that the law and order situation in the state was better than in other states. The Chief Secretary last Tuesday asserted that Haryana was the safest destination for investors.
Industrialists, however, feel that the law and order situation is far from satisfactory.
Some of them alleged that the government was not sensitive to the security concerns of industry circles.
Some unidentified armed persons looted a Pasco showroom of Rs 13 lakh in cash and Rs 14 lakh in assets and a cheque in broad day light. Two persons were murdered in Sector 31, followed by another murder in Sector 4 yesterday.
According to reports employees coming out from the industrial area with their salaries were assaulted and robbed around Pace City and on Khandsa road both centres of industry. Employees coming out of banks after drawing money have also been attacked on several occasions.
One entrepreneur said that like in Faridabad and other industrial cities, a trend of Diwali gift related violence was taking root in Gurgaon.
The management of Speciality Coatings and Laminations Ltd are said to be facing violence from a group of workers for not being given Diwali gifts as per their specifications. Even employees not supporting the agitational programme on the issue have been waylaid and assaulted.
The development has been brought to the notice of the police, but no action was taken so far. The workers are alleged to have been instigated by outsiders.
While production in some of the units has slowed on account of the violence, the deteriorating law and order situation has created a scare among industrialists.
One entrepreneur, who had recently set up a unit here said that with the industry already hit hard by the overall recession and by the state government's policy to hike power tariff at regular intervals, the pathetic law and order situation was proving the proverbial last straw.
A section of the industry is also facing violence from cartels of truck operators, who have formed a union and harass industrialists if their trucks are not used for transportation of goods from the factory premises. There have been a number of violence incidents against firms refusing to hire the local carriers. The problem is acute as these cartels fix rates at whim.
These truck operators are generally locals and a large section of industrialists are from far off places. One captain of industry said that hiring of local trucks was not possible in the case of export transactions as buyers abroad lay down certain specifications, one of which is the method of conveyance of goods for transportation to the final destination.
Some captains of industry said that they had dropped the idea of expanding their business till conditions became more conducive.
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