Pune: The weeklong restrictions across the district were met with a mixture of relief and consternation in the industrial pockets of Pune.
While representatives from the manufacturing and service sector were relieved that there was no blanket lockdown, they expressed some concern that the lack of public transport would affect workers and smaller companies.
For a few weeks, industry associations held frequent parleys with local administration officials, exhorting them to avoid a lockdown and instead, step up vaccinations to battle the second wave of the pandemic.
“We welcome the decision of no lockdown in Pune,” read a joint statement by Sudhir Mehta and Prashant Girbane, president and director-general respectively of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture.
They said the suspension of PMPML bus services would impact workers engaged in multiple shifts, especially those who cannot afford their own vehicles. “Retail and contact-based services sector would be further hit. Heightened uncertainty has unsettled state migrant labourers. If they leave, it will be a massive setback to the recovery process,” the statement added.
An industry representative said most micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises would not be able to afford to hire private buses to ferry their employees to and from work and suggested that PMPML buses be organized for them.
The local chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) also urged authorities to keep public transport running.
“We will continue to discuss the public transportation issue with the divisional commissioner, the local police, and other authorities. The only viable (non-lockdown) solution is to vaccinate all citizens over 18 years old in the worst-affected districts or municipal corporations. Maharashtra does have the resources and infrastructure to do this. Priority must be given to areas like Pune that are most affected by the pandemic,” Deepak Garg, chairman of CII’s Pune zonal council and managing director of Sany India, said.