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Fire at Shiva Chandra Jute Mill guts property worth Rs.20m
BIRATNAGAR, April 8: Property worth Rs. 20 million was gutted by fire at
Chandra Shiva Jute Mill Company of Nebuwa, Morang district, according to District Police Office, Morang. Of the five machines, four were gutted
in fire. The fire suddenly spread in the mill at around 11:30 am Sunday. Fire
engine, Nepal Police, Nepal Army and local people worked for hours to bring the fire under control.The cause behind the fire is yet to be
ascertained, said police. Source: myrepublica.com
Biratnagar Jute Mill will resume operation in a week

UDAYAPUR, February 11, 2013: Industry Minister Anil Kumar Jha has said Biratnagar
Jute Mill would come into operation within a week.The minister, who was here to inspect Udayapur Cement Factory,
informed that all public enterprises that remained closed would resume operation
soon, as "this is the policy adopted by the government".
"The government is working on brining all closed public enterprises, including sick firms, into operation,"
Jha told local journalists. "The resumption of operation of these public enterprises would generate more
jobs and increase the country´s production." According to Minister Jha, Biratnagar Jute Mill and Birgunj Sugar Mill,
among others, would come into operation soon. He, however, did not elaborate.
Minister Jha, on a separate note, said the government was working on developing a separate industrial security force to provide security to
industries in the country. "The force will be mobilized in industrial corridors and major industries," Jha said.
He also informed the government´s decision to establish internet zones in all industrial corridors in the country. "With this facility,
industrialists won´t have to come to Kathmandu to register their companies," Jha said. Source:REPUBLICA
Industry Minister to lease out Biratnagar jute mills
BIRATNAGAR, February 15, 2012: Process has been initiated to re-operate the Biratnagar Jute
Mills that has been closed for the past three years. According to Minister for Industry Anil Jha, the Mills will be operated
by giving them on lease to the private sector. During his meeting with the Jute Mills Operation
Struggle Committee, Minister Jha gave assurances to resume the factory. The government has decided to run the factory by giving it on lease to
the private sector as there was no situation of operating it through the
government sector, he said, adding that preparations were underway accordingly.
Nepal government to open Biratnagar Jute Mill
BIRATNAGAR, November 20, 2011: Minister for Industry Anil Kumar Jha has said that
the government was planning to bring back the Biratnagar Jute Mill into operation.
Speaking on occasion of the first death anniversary of industrialist and founder of the Hulas Wire Industries Ltd, Mahendra Kumar Golchha, in
Tankisinawari of Morang on Sunday, Minister Jha said that there is no way back from the decision of
adopting federalism in the country. At the program, Jha unveiled the bust of industrialist Golchha installed
in the industry premises. Also speaking on the occasion, lawmaker Jayaram Yadav hailed the
contribution of late Golchha to social and economic development of the country.
Lawmaker Diwakar Golchha, human rights activist Subodhraj Pyakurel and
general secretary of Eastern Regional Chamber of commerce and Industry Shyam Paudel among others expressed their opinion
during the program. Golchha Group has been running many industries in the east including
Arihanta Fiber, Eastern Sugar Mill, Raghupati Jute Mill and others. Mahendra Kumar Golchha died on November
17, 2009 at the age of 53. Source: theweek.myrepublica.com
Dropping jute price worries farmers
BIRATNAGAR, October 11, 2011: Jute farmers have been hit hard when the price of jute this
year is halved than that of the last year. Farmers were selling per 40 kg of jute at the price range from
Rs.2,200 to 2,600 last year while the price has now stood at the range from
Rs. 1,200 to 1,400. Jute farmers of Morang district have been disappointed with the price of
jute getting dropped. Raw jute is especially produced as a cash crop in the eastern Terai belt of Nepal.
The price of jute this year is so weak that it could not bear the
production cost, complained Bhavadev Yadav, a local of Katahari, Morang. Unit price for the production of 40 kg jute is more than 1,400, but it
has to be sold off at Rs. 1,200. Jute cultivation is fertile especially in Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari of
eastern Terai. Among the districts, Morang has the highest yielding of jute, according to Morang District Agriculture Development Office.
Annually 90,000 metric tons of raw jute is needed for the industries operating in Nepal, said official statistics.
But, currently the jute production stands at 17,000 metric tons per annum in Nepal, informed Planning Officer of the Office, Basanta
Aryal. Source: The Himalayan Times
Nepali jute industry in a fix
BIRATNAGAR, September 14,
2011: Nepali jute industry has been affected with the depletion in production
of jute in Bangladesh, the major exporter of raw jute to Nepal, according to reports.
Some 80 of the total of jute industries in the country rely on raw jute imported from Bangladesh as well as India. Nine industries operating in
the eastern region require 80 thousand metric tons of jute every year. In Nepal, the annual production of jute stands at a mere 22 thousand
metric tons, which is not enough for domestic jute producers even for four months.
Last year, the price of raw jute was Rs 30 thousand per ton. However,
this year, the price has surged to Rs 50 thousand. The rise in price of raw jute coupled with a reduction in import of the
same has put Nepali jute manufacturers in a great crisis. It is also said that the prices of final jute products have not grown in tandem
with the rise of raw jute.
In the Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor of eastern Nepal, jute companies
Swastik, Arihanta, Baba, CM, Guheshwori, Raghupati, GS and Nepal Jute are operating. The total daily production of these jute
industries stand at 280 tons. However, due to lack of raw jute and workers, they have been only able to produce 218 tons.
India is the prime market of Nepali readymade jute products. But, the price of products has not increased in Indian markets even though the
cost of operation of Nepali manufacturers is witnessing upward spiral. Source: nepalnews.com
Govt to sell Biratnagar Jute Mill
BIRATNAGAR, Sept 12: The government has decided to sell the
state-owned Biratnagar Jute Mill (BJM) to private party by getting rid of its existing workforce under payoff system. The oldest jute mill in the country has remained closed over deepening dispute between mill management and workers for more than a year. The decision will affect some 1,100 workers.
Under the tripartite agreement between employees, management and government officials agreed on Thursday, workers completing up to 29 years of service would get lump sum equivalent to three
months of salary and other facilities and one month of salary as compensation, while workers
completing more than 29 years of service would be entitled to a lump sum equivalent to 85 months of salary and other facilities. The government has to bear a liability of around Rs 600 million to clear the workers´ dues.
Source: MYREPUBLICA.com
Biratnagar Jute Mill to be closed
BIRATNAGAR, May 3, 2009: The government has decided to shut down Biratnagar Jute Mill, which has long been lumbering with low output and repeated closures owing to inadequate capital.Minister for Industry Astha Laxmi Shakya said that the government was in the process of taking the mill to payoff (closure of factory for the time being by paying compensation to the workers) before shutting down the mills. The factory has also remained closed for last six months.
"After the workers are provided their wages, the government will discuss whether to privatise the mill in future," the minister told The Post over the phone.
The government has a 46 percent stake in the mill, but it has been overseeing its operation for the
last three years as the private management that took control the mill as a part of
govt's privatization move, failed to run the factory. Despite minority shares in the mill, the burden of providing salary for all the workers has rested on the government since the departure of private management. Ashok
Pokharel, acting chairman of the mill's board of directors, said that they wrote the Ministry of Finance to provide Rs. 38.7 million to pay the salary and other facilities to the workers for the last three months. But it will need more than Rs.500 million to compensate the workers and other employees before the formal closure of the factory.There are 1086 workers and employees in the
factory. Source: eKantipur.com
Jute Mill Workers Sign Deal With Management
Kathmandu, January 13, 2009: Agitating workers and industrialists sealed an agreement on Monday, although as a 'temporary measure'.
"The workers for the time being will get Rs 190 as daily wage each for three months," said an industrialist who took part in the talks. "However, the industrialists have urged the government to
provide diesel directly and waive tax on spare parts for the jute industry," he said adding that the government had agreed to their demand.
Within three months, a committee will finalise the deal. Workers of Biratnagar Jute Mill had closed the Nepal-India border point near Jogbani in Biratnagar for 12
consecutive days as a protest. Imports and exports had halted, hitting revenue
collection. The Jogbani customs point is the second-largest customs revenue
earner. Agitating workers had also shut down all jute mills in the Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor since the past 10 days to press their four-point charter of demands that includes regular operation of industries, payment of minimum wages as fixed by the government and reduction in load-shedding hours.
The workers have also demanded the reopening of the government-owned
Biratnagar Jute Mills that was shut down three months ago due to lack of operating capital.
There are over 20,000 workers in jute mills located in the area, including around 3,000 in Biratnagar Jute Mills. |
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