Just when the industrial resurgence was taking over the zeal in West Bengal,
political decisions seem to be halting the progress. The Communist Party of
India (CPI Marxist) called a 12-hour bandh in West Bengal to protest the rise in
petroleum prices on, June 5. The decision was taken suddenly by the Politburo
and came as a shock across the business community in Bengal, predominantly in
the IT sector.
To add fuel to the fire, the Opposition in Bengal, led by Trinamool Congress
(TMC), also called for a 12-hour bandh on the same issue. “The Left is
supporting the Central Government. They are calling for a bandh despite knowing
about the price hike beforehand! But our bandh is a true bandh,” commented
Mamata Banerjee, Leader of Opposition and TMC supremo.
Although Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the Chief Minister, assured that the IT hub
of the state-Sector V, would not be affected by the bandh, attendance was poor
during the two days in Sector V. “In the previous bandh also, the Chief Minister
assured that IT would be left out of the decision, but it didn't turn out to be
so. My vehicle was attacked by bandh supporters and I suffered a head injury.
This time, I am not risking going to office,” said a software professional
working in Sector V.
Bearing the brunt
These two consecutive bandhs had a dire effect on the IT industry,
particularly on the IT retail business. With nearly all IT outlets and showrooms
remaining closed in the weekend throughout the city, IT retailing across West
Bengal was brought to a standstill.
“The bandhs resulted in a complete halt of all businesses. The operational
and logistical loss has been immense. Due to the futile weekend, most of the
process has been delayed and I don't know how I am I going to make up for the
losses,” commented Manoj Rathi, Director, Diamond Infotech.
The situation is also tense in North Bengal where the Hill Council agitation
centered in Siliguri and Darjeeling is going on. The situation has worsened as
the Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha has called for an indefinite strike in the hills
asking all tourists to evacuate. Coupled with the two bandhs, all shops remained
closed with IT logistics bearing the brunt of it. “On an average, I lost Rs
30,000 worth of business on these two days. On the first weekend, the month-end
buying closes and since the entire logistical support was out of gear, the
deliveries could not be made on time. Had the bandh got declared the previous
week, I could have made alternate arrangements, but on one day notice it is
impossible to arrange for back-up and now with the call for the indefinite
strike, I don't know what I am going to do,” said Manish Agarwal, Director,
Placewell Computers (Siliguri).
Hardware prices hit
The retail market is indeed at a halt across the country as a result of the
hardware price rise. Backed by inflation and the stock market going down, the
speculation in West Bengal is the IT market, particularly retail business, might
be hit hard. Repeated bandhs are not only tarnishing the political face of
Bengal, but are creating a bad reputation on the potential investors in the
state.
With the Rajarhat Project going on for evolving a second IT hub, after Sector
V, the bandh has indeed upset the IT community in the state. However, keeping
their cool despite suffering huge losses, most dealers across Bengal are
optimistic of the government policies regarding IT. “It is a temporary re-roll
and since the IT retail sector is based on manpower rotation, we may make up for
the loss in due time. The IT retail business has definitely suffered, but at the
end of the day, it is the end-user who had to bear the brunt as they will have
to pay for the extra damages and the price hike,” commented Vinay Dugar,
Director, Supreme Technologies.
Reacting to the monetary losses suffered by the IT sector, Biman Bose, CPI
Marxist State Committee Spokesperson said, “We are not against the IT sector and
have always left it out of any political turmoil. But the bandh has been called
in the interest of the masses to protest against the price hike in petrol which
will pull up the prices of all commodities as transportation and freight charges
will go up.”