Noida violence may turn away investors

For chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, who has been aggressively wooing investors with his ‘pro-active’ industrial policies, Wednesday’s large-scale violence at Noida on the first day of the two-day ‘Bharat Bandh’ could not have come at a worse time.

As several industrial units in phase-2 of Noida were torched and dozens of vehicles burnt as the owners watched helplessly with no police help forthcoming, it could shake the confidence of investors.

It may also adversely impact Akhilesh’s attempt to bring the industries in the state on the lines of Gujarat.

“The violence in Noida does not augur well for the industrialists. It will certainly shake the confidence of the foreign investors,” said an office bearer of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

Chamber’s secretary general D S Rawat said the government should have taken steps to prevent the flare-up. “The government should have been on the alert,” he told Deccan Herald over the phone.

He said it was ‘harmful’ for the country’s economy and feared that such bandhs would become more frequent as the next general elections neared. “While some demands of the workers may be genuine, they should be settled amicably,” he added.