Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Delay in getting an electricity connection has stalled operations at the Textile Recovery Facility Centre (TRFC) in Anna Nagar, pushing its launch by at least two months.
Set up by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, the cotton fiber plant is now sitting idle, despite machinery installation and a growing heap of clothes waiting to be processed.
For over a month, BMC officials have been making rounds of various departments, but no concrete steps have been taken to provide electricity. In the meantime, more than two tonnes of old clothes have piled up at the site. Monsoon rains have repeatedly soaked the clothes, forcing the plant operator to manually dry them and raising concern about material damage.
The plant was handed over to the operating company in April. Since then, high-end machinery imported from China has been installed and discarded clothes have been collected from across the city. Yet, due to the missing power connection, not a single unit of cotton fiber has been produced.
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A few days ago, BMC Additional Commissioner Devendra Singh Chauhan inspected the site. Instead of resolving the issue, he reportedly scolded the operator, further adding to frustration.
How clothes are collected
Used clothes are collected through BMC’s “3R” (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) vehicles. Residents can donate old clothes in exchange for items like cocopeat or household goods. Over the last six months, more than two tonnes of clothes have been gathered and deposited at the Anna Nagar site.
What TRFC does
Unlike textile scrap units, the TRFC is designed to recycle unusable clothes that would otherwise end up in Adampur landfill. The plant has a processing capacity of 5 tonnes per day. Clothes are cut, carded and converted into cotton fiber, which is later processed into yarn using open-end spinning machines.
Mounting losses
According to plant operator Harry Pawani, the project cost is estimated between Rs 1.5–2 crore. “Despite installing imported machinery and collecting clothes citywide, we’re unable to begin work due to the power delay,” he said.
