Barrackpore (West Bengal) [India], April 25 : Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, jute mill workers in Barrackpore expect their representative to revive the closed mills in the constituency and make sure that no further mills shut down.
The Gouripur Jute Mill in Naihati which falls under the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat has been closed for the last 26 years. The mill is now under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court. Locals who used to work at the mill hope that the leader who gets elected fulfils his promise to make the mill functional.

Apart from the Gauripur Jute Mill, five other jute mills have shut down. Residents of Barrackpur whose livelihood depends on these mills expect their winning representative to think about them and ensure that the jute mills which frequently shut down stay functional.
Out of 22 jute mills in Barrackpur, six have shut down. Earlier there were reports that the Gauripur Jute Mill would be reopened but nothing as such happened.
Mohammad Ejaz Ansari, a youth living in Naihati, shared that his grandfather used to work at the Gauripur Jute Mill when it shut down suddenly.
"My grandfather used to work in Gauripur Jute Mill when suddenly the mill was closed. I work somewhere else. My hope in this election is that the winner does something about the future of the jute mills here," Ansari said speaking to ANI.
Deepak Kurmi, who is a worker at a jute mill, said that he is living in fear that the mill where he is working might shut down.
"For us, a leader is the one who thinks about our livelihood. We work in a jute mill. We never know when the mill will be closed. How many mills are lying closed here! This should not happen. After all, how will we do other work? We cast our votes. The leaders should also think about us," Kurmi said speaking to ANI.
Another worker Rajesh Kurmi said that several political leaders had promised that the Gauripur Jute Mill would be reopened but nothing as such materialised.
"Many MPs came and assured us that Gauripur Jute Mill will be reopened. Dinesh Trivedi had said that the key was in his hand but he did not do anything. Arjun Singh became MP. He also did nothing. Partha Bhowmik, the MLA here had also said that he would get the mill opened. Now he is contesting the elections. Let's see what happens next. Whoever wins should fulfil his promise. What else do we need?" Kurmi said speaking to ANI.
Meanwhile, BJP candidate and sitting MP from Barrackpur Arjun Singh said that he had raised the issue in Parliament and had asked the West Bengal government to acquire it but nothing was done.

"I had raised the issue of jute mills in Parliament. I had even asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee about the Gauripur Jute Mill to acquire it but the government did not listen to me," Singh said.
BJP's Arjun Singh defeated Trinamool Congress' Dinesh Trivedi with a margin of 14,857 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Trinamool Congress' (TMC) Parth Bhoumik has been pitted against Singh from Barrackpore this election which is expected to see a close fight between the TMC and the BJP. Barrackpore will be voting in the fifth phase on May 20.