The traders from other states are also hesitant to place orders here due to the increasing number of Covid cases in Maharashtra.

Satish Koshti, the president of the district power loom association, said that Ichalkarani has a large number of migrant workers working in around 13,000 small and big power loom factories.

“The textile industry here was recovering after the huge set back last year. But the fear of lockdown and rise in Covid cases is driving migrant workers back. The industries, which stay largely dependent on migrant workers, have been badly affected again,” he said.

The strict lockdown last year and reduction in orders had severely hit the textile hub. Currently, only the looms with export orders are functioning up to 50%, while the domestic supply is stopped.

Ashutosh Hupare, a textile loom owner, said, “If the migrant workers leave they won’t return soon and without them, the mills can’t function. So I have decided to provide food and shelter along with some advance payment to the migrant workers in my factory. But still few are insisting on returning home in fear of lockdown.”

Harsh Shah, a textile trader said, “With the yarn cost fluctuating, the owners are hesitant to place an order as after purchase if the yarn cost goes further down it will be difficult to recover the amount.”

He added that due to this the dealers from other textile producing cities like Surat, Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Delhi, Meerut and Kanpur are not placing any new orders. A few of them have cancelled their orders due to rise in Covid cases.

Last year’s traumatic experience still haunts the workers. Maan Singh, a migrant worker said, “Last year, we faced several difficulties to reach our home towns and hence we are returning to avoid the same. The market is slow and the Covid cases are continuously rising. So, it is better for us to return home and stay with our families.

Ichalkaranji is famous for its grey cloth production after which the unprocessed cloth is sent to Surat, Mumbai, Bhiwandi and Delhi for further processing. The city with the presence of powerloom, air-jet, knitting and handloom also exports fabric across the world.