‘Why should we vote?’ India’s jute workers blame politicians for woes

Jute, a major Indian export, is in a crisis. The vote of millions of industry workers in Bengal state is up for grabs.

Kolkata, India — Amirul Laskar has been out of a job for the past three months, since the jute mill where he was employed shut operations citing losses.

The 40-year-old worked at the Delta Jute Mill in Manikpur village, about 20km (12 miles) from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state.

Since he lost his job, he has struggled to run his household and pay for food as well as the other needs of his parents, wife and 18-month-old daughter, he told Al Jazeera.

“Such disruptions had happened three to four times last year also, when work was suspended for a few months before resuming again,” Laskar said, adding that things have not improved this year. “The financial situation is pathetic and I am trying to migrate to another state to find work to feed my family.”

Laskar is one of the 4,000 workers of the Delta Jute Mill who have been out of a job, and income, since the mill stopped operations in February.