Textile mills in the western belt have added a night shift to meet winter orders. Export houses want plain weaves, used in coats and school uniforms, on the dock two weeks earlier than last year.
Owners say the constraint is not thread. It is skilled loom technicians willing to work past ten. Mills are offering a meal and a guaranteed ride home for the night gang, which they did not need when the order book was thinner.
What happens next
Workers who took the shift said the pay is welcome and the hours are hard. Several asked whether the night line will survive after this season or vanish once the coats are shipped. Managers would not promise a permanent second shift.
Power officials have been told the mills will draw more between midnight and five. The industrial feeder for that estate already runs near its limit on festival evenings, so the mills agreed to drop the night shift on those two dates.
Taj Today will update this report if the official numbers or the timetable change. Related coverage stays on the Business page.
