Reviving powerloom sector, addressing farmers’ needs key demands in Sulur Assembly constituency

Despite being a crucial gateway between Coimbatore and Tiruppur, the strategically positioned Sulur is still lagging behind the majority of other Assembly constituencies in Coimbatore district in terms of infrastructure development and access to basic amenities.

Formed in 2008 and having participated in the electoral contest in 2011, the constituency serves as a major hub for industries and agriculture in Coimbatore district. Coconut and various types of vegetables form the larger areas of cultivation.

The region is known for the powerloom cluster, which, along with parts of Tiruppur, jointly had about 2.5 lakh powerlooms, employing around as many workers. However, the numbers plummeted to nearly 1.75 lakh over the past five years, mainly due to issues related to wages of workers that persisted from 2017.

“The cluster accounts for the production of one third of the grey gada produced in the country. Around 50,000 powerlooms were sold as scrap after they remained shut due to wage issues and other factors in the past five years. Sulur Assembly constituency regions now house about 75,000 powerlooms with as many workers, said E. Bhoopathi, president of the Coimbatore and Tiruppur district job-working powerloom unit owners association.

According to him, a sector, now under the Department of Handlooms, needs to be brought under a separate Directorate or Ministry for its revival. Though issues related to wages were settled in 2025, wage revisions in the future should be handled by the said Directorate or Ministry through a government order and not through the current system of talks among District Collectors of Coimbatore and Tiruppur, job working unit owners and the fabric manufacturers, he said.

“We have also been demanding for a textile market at Somanur for years as it would uplift the region,” he added.

With coconut being the main cultivated crop, farmers from the region have been demanding better prices for coconut, copra, coconut oil and by-products. There is a strong demand from farmers for the government to immediately implement a scheme to distribute coconut oil through fair price shops to alleviate their distress.

Restoration of River Noyyal

C. Saravanan, a social activist from Karavali Madhapur, said most of the local bodies falling under Sulur constituency were not handling solid waste properly and were either dumping in places like abandoned quarries or burning them. He also wanted authorities to take immediate steps to save River Noyyal passing through the region, polluted with effluents from industries and sewage from human habitations.

“There is an urgent need to save the river by clearing all encroachments and curbing discharge of pollutants. Vast stretches of the river are encroached upon by people and turned as dumping sites. Several tanks in the region, serving as groundwater recharging points, are also facing the threat of garbage dumping,” he said.

The constituency is home to Pallapalayam tank, Kannampalayam tank, Irugur tank, Achankulam, Sulur small tank, Sulur big tank and Samalapuram tank.  

D. Prabhakaran, social activist and State organising secretary of Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Pathukappu Sangam, said a long-pending demand of economically weaker sections from the region, namely establishment of a government arts and science college in the constituency, remains unfulfilled.

“Farmers in Sulur, Somanur and nearby areas are also suffering from crop damage caused by large numbers of deer that have colonised along the banks of Noyyal and other barren lands. Steps should be taken to translocate them,” he said.