Urangul Labour Construction Cooperative (ULCC) has suffered a shrinkage of nearly 20 per cent in its activities in the wake of demonetization, informs its Managing Director S Shaju. ULCC may not be well known in north India but a name to reckon with in the south due to its brand value.
Forced to manage with just Rs 50 thousand per week after demonetization, the first thing ULCC did was to open accounts of its workers in banks. “Labor wage was the major challenge as we have close to 5000 labor associated with us- some on pay roll and others on contract, said Sajju to Indian Cooperative.
Since we mostly have accounts in cooperative banks which themselves are suffering in the wake of demonetization
our problem got compounded, says the MD. It is here that the role of govt assumes greater importance. The govt needs to support cooperatives or else the model would suffer irreparably, he warns.
“Our major projects have not been stopped or halted. They are very much going on and we would deliver them on time”, added Sajju. ULCC builds roads and houses mostly in the government sector which prefers awarding contracts to ULCC’ because of its sterling track record.
Sajju, however, believes that the problem may ease with time. We are waiting for 31st December. I think may be in the next 2-3 months things are back on rail, he hoped.
ULCC was launched with 14 members with an initial investment of 37 paise in 1925 in Vadakara in Kozhikode district. Having built airports, roads and dams, it got a ULCC Cyber Park inaugurated by the President of India Mr Pranab Mukerjee.
