Marwari mood sombre ahead of Bengal govt's investor summit
BS Reporters / Kolkata January 07, 2012, 0:16 IST
Ahead of the West Bengal government’s investor meet, Bengal Leads, on Monday, the mood among Marwari industrialists here is low. Some will make it to the meet, but most will be “travelling” and have not “prioritised” the event.
A muted response is expected on the back of a general mood of disappointment, defined by the treatment given to the non-executive directors of AMRI who happen to be promoters of the Emami and Shrachi groups and are in jail, vis-a-vis the four directors who happen to be Bengal’s and include the managing director and chairman.The AMRI hospital fire that claimed 90 lives on the morning of December 9 is threatening to engulf chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s much-promised Bengal resurgence.
A city-based businessman, who owns a group exceeding Rs 1,100 crore and was until a while ago a common fixture at Banerjee’s events said he was just not interested in any investment summit.
“The mood is one of gloom and doom. In the middle of all this, who is interested in Bengal Leads? We are still discussing a possibility of a collective action aimed at side-stepping the summit. Many will make themselves scarce,” he said.
Most say the state government’s discrimination in handling the AMRI case is too stark to overlook. Banerjee’s response to a Ficci plea, in favour of a fair trial for the AMRI directors, has made it worse. “A chamber has said that the directors of AMRI should be released. I want to tell them that we want industry here, but we do not want industry that will kill people. Terrorists are terrorists. From this chair, I cannot be a sympathiser. Even I have limits, but the law will take its own course,” Banerjee said a couple of days before.
Most Marwaris have put expansion plans on hold, forget fresh investment. Some are even considering stepping down from the boards of companies where they serve as independent directors.
West Bengal commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee is aware of the feeling among the state's largest investor community. "I know why they are feeling like this, But I am in touch with them and have asked them to continue investing in Bengal. As far as AMRI is concerned, the matter is sub judice and law will take its own course," he said.
Certainly, no one intends to do anything in the healthcare sector in a long time. Some trusts have already closed hospitals not subscribing to the fire safety rules. At least half a dozen hospitals in the old northern part of Kolkata have paused operations due to fear of ramifications in case of an AMRI-like tragedy. Some like Vishudanand have opened their doors again under pressure from the government, which has promised support for upgradation to conform to the fire norms.
According to Pushkarlal Kedia, president of the Marwari Relief Society, a trust which manages at least a couple of hospitals, the management is scared of a disaster that might occur on the premises. “We are all scared of what will happen to us in case anything untoward were to happen,” he said.
Most hospitals like these are run by charitable trusts, on an upkeep of Rs 40-50 lakh a month. All this money is raised through donations, most coming from the Marwari community. Among the hospitals which have already expressed concern to the government in this regard are the Marwari Relief Society Hospital, Vishudhanand Hospital, Vishuddhananda Saraswati Marwari Hospital, Matri Mangal Hospital, Lohia Hospital and Ashram Bhiwaniwala Hospital.
“I know traditional Marwari families who are selling properties in Bengal, at any price. People don’t want to take risks. At the end of the day, we now know where we stand,” a businessman said.
BS Reporters / Kolkata January 07, 2012, 0:16 IST
Ahead of the West Bengal government’s investor meet, Bengal Leads, on Monday, the mood among Marwari industrialists here is low. Some will make it to the meet, but most will be “travelling” and have not “prioritised” the event.
A muted response is expected on the back of a general mood of disappointment, defined by the treatment given to the non-executive directors of AMRI who happen to be promoters of the Emami and Shrachi groups and are in jail, vis-a-vis the four directors who happen to be Bengal’s and include the managing director and chairman.The AMRI hospital fire that claimed 90 lives on the morning of December 9 is threatening to engulf chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s much-promised Bengal resurgence.
A city-based businessman, who owns a group exceeding Rs 1,100 crore and was until a while ago a common fixture at Banerjee’s events said he was just not interested in any investment summit.
“The mood is one of gloom and doom. In the middle of all this, who is interested in Bengal Leads? We are still discussing a possibility of a collective action aimed at side-stepping the summit. Many will make themselves scarce,” he said.
Most say the state government’s discrimination in handling the AMRI case is too stark to overlook. Banerjee’s response to a Ficci plea, in favour of a fair trial for the AMRI directors, has made it worse. “A chamber has said that the directors of AMRI should be released. I want to tell them that we want industry here, but we do not want industry that will kill people. Terrorists are terrorists. From this chair, I cannot be a sympathiser. Even I have limits, but the law will take its own course,” Banerjee said a couple of days before.
Most Marwaris have put expansion plans on hold, forget fresh investment. Some are even considering stepping down from the boards of companies where they serve as independent directors.
West Bengal commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee is aware of the feeling among the state's largest investor community. "I know why they are feeling like this, But I am in touch with them and have asked them to continue investing in Bengal. As far as AMRI is concerned, the matter is sub judice and law will take its own course," he said.
Certainly, no one intends to do anything in the healthcare sector in a long time. Some trusts have already closed hospitals not subscribing to the fire safety rules. At least half a dozen hospitals in the old northern part of Kolkata have paused operations due to fear of ramifications in case of an AMRI-like tragedy. Some like Vishudanand have opened their doors again under pressure from the government, which has promised support for upgradation to conform to the fire norms.
According to Pushkarlal Kedia, president of the Marwari Relief Society, a trust which manages at least a couple of hospitals, the management is scared of a disaster that might occur on the premises. “We are all scared of what will happen to us in case anything untoward were to happen,” he said.
Most hospitals like these are run by charitable trusts, on an upkeep of Rs 40-50 lakh a month. All this money is raised through donations, most coming from the Marwari community. Among the hospitals which have already expressed concern to the government in this regard are the Marwari Relief Society Hospital, Vishudhanand Hospital, Vishuddhananda Saraswati Marwari Hospital, Matri Mangal Hospital, Lohia Hospital and Ashram Bhiwaniwala Hospital.
“I know traditional Marwari families who are selling properties in Bengal, at any price. People don’t want to take risks. At the end of the day, we now know where we stand,” a businessman said.
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