Why one of India’s biggest electoral bond donors is a touchy topic in Bhiwandi

Bhiwandi, Maharashtra: It is just another summer day in the dimly lit, sweltering powerloom unit belonging to 52-year-old Prabhakar Aluwala in Bhiwandi. Two labourers wearing vests move swiftly from one loom to the next to make the necessary turns to keep the yarn spinning without getting disturbed and ruining the design. They are manufacturing the grey cotton used for making sarees, as part of an earlier contract. The labourers don’t have time to pose for pictures. There is hardly any room to take any in the unit anyway; in that cramped space, not being careful can lead to injury of the kind one saw in old Hindi movies based on Mumbai’s working class.

The unit is working at half capacity as the market is slow right now. While ups and downs have always been part of the business, Aluwala does not feel motivated to stay in this business any longer, let alone encourage his 24-year-old son to join it.

One of the reasons, he says, is a company that is also one of India’s biggest donors to political parties via electoral bonds. Bhiwandi is supplied with power by Torrent Power Ltd (TPL), a distribution franchise of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Limited (MSEDCL), since 2007. Powerloom owners like Aluwala and public representatives allege that power bills have doubled or tripled since the franchise was brought in, and this in turn has dealt a massive blow to the Rs 10,000-crore powerloom industry. Around 30-40% powerlooms have shut over the years.