Over 10 lakh power looms in the textile centers of Bhiwandi and Malegaon in Maharashtra have stopped production because of the closure of textile processing units in Rajasthan. The alarming economic situation at both textile centers of Maharashtra has left about one million people jobless.

The closure of the textile processing units in Rajasthan has led to low demand for grey cloth in the market. Prices of grey cloth have come down below the actual manufacturing cost in the last three months while the prices of yarn remain the same. In this situation weavers find it difficult to run their power looms.

The closure of power loom units in Bhiwandi and Malegaon is bound to impact the textile business in Surat and other parts of the country. Prices of cotton grey cloth started falling in February this year when the Rajasthan Pollution Board axed about 800 textile processing units and forced them to stop work accusing them of violating norms.

However, the situation worsened further when the markets opened after the Eid break in July. This forced weavers in Malegaon to bring production down to a minimum. The 10 lakh power looms in Bhiwandi and Malegaon are estimated to be over 50 per cent of the total in India.