Title - Labour crunch hits industry

Ludhiana:
The upcoming festival of Holi has led to a labour crunch in the industry. Lakhs of migrant workers here have taken leaves to visit their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the festival.With such a huge migration of skilled workers, the industry is facing difficulty in terms of production. Fearing losses, the industry is announcing lucrative packages to the migrants.A sea of migrant labourers can be seen scurrying for tickets at the Ludhiana railway station. As the workers will return after 15 to 20 days, traders and industrialists have hung boards of ‘workers wanted’ outside their premises."Last year, a majority of workers did not return after Holi. I apprehend that they got employment under Central government's employment scheme. In order to make them stay, I am giving them cellphones on Holi. Leaving a couple of workers, everybody else has agreed to stay back," said Brijesh Puri, owner of a garment factory at Focal Point. Gurcharan Singh, owner of a unit on Tajpur Road, said he had booked return tickets for his workers. "It is to ensure that they return to work," he said.