Pondicherry Swadeshi Cotton Mill Photographs and History

The Swadeshi Cotton Mill is one of the ancient textile mills of the Union Territory of Pondicherry established by the French Administration. Now NTC, which is managing the Swadeshi Cotton Mill, is proposing to close down the mill on the ground that it is incurring losses. This move is ill-conceived and would affect the livelihood of several workers depending on this mill. Besides, it would also add to the unemployment problem. It may be mentioned that the Government of Pondicherry has already created a Pondicherry Textile Corporation, which is managing the Anglo-French Textiles. It is suggested that the Swadeshi Cotton Mill instead of being closed may be merged with the Pondicherry Textile Corporation.

The hon. Minister for Textiles is requested to prevail upon the National Textile Corporation not to proceed with the closure of Swadeshi Cotton Mill at Pondicherry.

 Nature has taken over parts of the Swadeshi Cotton Mill Pondicherry  trees have spliced into the walls, piles of rubble and splintered windows greet you everywhere, pipes and tattered posters sag across the building’s façade. A few workers trooping in from lunch look at us curiously as we walk into the only part that is still functioning—the spinning units. Raising his voice to be heard over bobbins of white yarn whirling off dusty old machines, Theodore, who works as a supervisor here, tells me how the workforce has reduced drastically. “Nearly 3,000 people used to work here once,” he remembers. Today there are 200.