Coronavirus pandemic | Car, bike factories in Pune shut till March 31; Mercedes, Fiat, JCB join the league

More than two dozen Covid-19 positive cases have been reported from the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad in Maharashtra

Swaraj Baggonkar

March 22, 2020 / 06:02 PM IST

live

bselive
nselive

Volume

Todays L/H

The deadly Covid-19 virus has forced more than half a dozen automotive manufacturing plants, that make cars, bikes, trucks and earthmovers, in Maharashtra to shutdown operations till March 31.

The need for closure of establishments was also called for by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which recommended all vehicle manufacturers and component manufacturers to consider plant shutdowns to overcome this critical period.

"With a view to the deteriorating situation arising out of COVID-19, SIAM and ACMA have requested their member in OCM and Auto Component industry to consider plant shut down for a limited period to overcome the critical period so that workers are not exposed to the virus. This is in line with SIAM's motto of Building the Nation, Responsibly," said Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), together with Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited (FIAPL) – FCA’s joint venture manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon – announced today that it will work with the government to temporarily close down operations and suspend production.

The temporary suspension, which will be in effect until March 31, 2020, is in response to the increasing spread of coronavirus in Maharashtra, particularly in Pune. More than two dozen COVID-19 positive cases have been reported from the twin cities of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Tata Motors, which has the biggest production base among automotive companies in Maharashtra, was the first company to announce a shutdown followed by Bajaj Auto. Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz also shut down its assembly factory located at Chakan, Pune.

"Due to the worsening situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercedes-Benz India has decided to suspend the majority of production at its manufacturing facility located in Chakan as well as work in selected administrative departments, for an initial period starting 21st March to 31st March. Mercedes-Benz India’s leadership team is constantly evaluating the situation and will decide on further measures as required. Full operations will be resumed when the situation improves", a statement from Mercedes-Benz India said.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show

“FIAPL had already implemented increased sanitary processes coupled with improvements to protect employee safety, including thermal screening and extra buses for the work commute, ensuring social distancing. During this closure period, the Ranjangaon plant will also undertake intensified cleaning and sanitisation, including total fumigation to ensure a safe return for employees”, said a statement from Fiat.

No automotive company so far has announced any retrenchment or cut back on salaries to the employees during the period.

“There will be no retrenchment of any plant employees as a result of the plant closure and all will continue to receive their salaries during this closure period”, Fiat added.

A directive from the Maharashtra government mandated a near-shutdown of the state to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. Private establishments have been asked to stay shut even as government offices and services will run at 25 percent of its full strength.

Suburban train services in Mumbai, that constitute more than half of the public transport, will not allow people belonging to non-essential services to board trains till March 31.