The huge iron gates of Lakshmi Ratan Cotton Mills in Kopadganj are completely hidden by makeshift shops selling pan masala and fruits.
Outside the Elgin Mills in Souterganj, a row of “chat” shops emerge in the evening and the shady trees provide a perfect haven for tired rickshawpullers during the day.
The imposing red brick structures, built during the British Raj, no longer spew smoke and the hum and drone of machines has fallen silent. Kanpur no longer wakes up to soot particles strewn in its backyards.
Once known as the “Manchester of the East”, Kanpur is now a picture of government apathy. The over a dozen cloth mills, including Elgin Mills, Lal Imli (partially open), Victoria Mills, Muir Mills, Laxmi Ratan Cotton Mills, J.K. Cotton and J.K. Rayon, have shut down over the past two decades.
“Nationalisation of these mills led to intense labour and, subsequently, the closure of all mills, one by one. The entire workforce of the city suddenly became jobless and today, you can find at least 60 per cent of mill workers plying rickshaws for a living,” says Arvind Mathur, whose father was an employee in the Elgin Mills. G.K. Srivastava, 58, who sells mosquito nets and plastic goods outside the Victoria Mill gate, near Naveen Market, admits that he has “thrown family prestige to the winds” to fend for his family.
“I was a supervisor in this mill but after its closure, I could not find a suitable job. My children were small and finally I decided to sell mosquito nets to ensure a square meal for them. My family was unhappy but I had no choice,” he says.
For Mr Srivastava, and perhaps thousands others like him, elections bring no excitement, no hope.
“We have seen them all. Atal Behari Vajpayee promised in 1996 that if he became PM, the chimneys in Kanpur would start billowing smoke. Our representatives met Mulayam Singh and Mayawati too but these leaders never turned back to even cast a glance at Kanpur. Our MP Shri Prakash Jaiswal is a Union minister, but he excuses himself saying that the state government is not cooperating. We have lost faith in politicians across the board,” says Mintoo Singh, whose father, an employee of the Muir Mills, died last month.
Kanpur, apart from unemployment, is grappling with lack of civic amenities and unhealthy living conditions.