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Two mill workers commit suicide in Bombay

Leela Pawar in Bombay

Two workers of the sick Mafatlal Mills in Bombay committed suicide on Sunday and Monday after the mill failed to pay its workers their salaries for five months.

Sudhakar Patil, a resident of suburban Virar, flung himself before a speeding train early on Sunday, while his colleague and friend Anant Kalsekar, a resident of Kala Chowkie in central Bombay, consumed pesticide on Monday.

The once-booming textile industry in Bombay has been reeling under a severe cash crunch with a majority of mill owners losing interest in the business as rising costs of production have brought profits under pressure. Central Bombay, which was once the hub of the city's industrial activity, is today littered with the shells of these old and decaying mills.

"I should have suspected something when he did not take leave like usual while going out," recalled Patil's widow Kadambala (28), who works as a teacher in a private school. She will now have to bring up their two children - Yuvraj, 15, and Haardik, 2 - alone.

Patil left home at 5.00 am and jumped off platform no. 3 of the Virar station as the Dahanu shuttle approached. He died on the spot.

"Last week he broke down when it was time pay Yuvaraj's class fees," said Kadambala. "We have been trying to run the house on the meagre salary I bring home, but it was never enough."

The Patils invested in a one-room-kitchen flat in 1996 after availing a housing loan. Having defaulted on payment of instalments for two months, Kadambala now faces the prospect of losing the house too.

Life was equally tough on Anant Kalsekar, who was being hounded by creditors. Sole earning member of his family, which includes a bed-ridden mother, a younger sister, his wife and three-year-old daughter, Kalsekar often told his friends that he was tired of life.

Monday around 5.00 pm he consumed pesticide. He was rushed to the KEM hospital, but was declared dead before admission.

Mafatlal workers were getting around Rs 500 per worker per month until five months ago. However, these cheques stopped in April suddenly. Nobody knows why.

When rediff.com tried to contact the mill management on Tuesday, security personnel said the mill was closed for Ganpati Festival. The mill's public relations officer did not respond to repeated calls to his house.

The labour imbroglio in Mafatlal mills, which began in early 80s, seemed resolved when Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh recently said the government would take over the mill if the workers were not paid.

However, nothing has happened after that shimmer of hope.

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