New Delhi, Dec. 26: The series of strikes in Bengal have not gone down well with India Inc.

An Assocham survey of companies who have invested or have plans of investing in Bengal shows that industry is against such bandhs. Most companies agreed with the statement in the questionnaire that “recent bandh calls in quick succession to obtain political mileage might derail the steady industrialisation pace in Bengal”.

Assocham based its findings on feedback from its promoter chambers on the current industrial scenario in the state. The chambers include Bengal National Chamber of Commerce, Bengal Chamber of Commerce, Merchants Chamber of Commerce and Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.

A senior official from Mahindra & Mahindra said: “I will not say it is a scary situation but bandhs certainly are a cause of worry for investors since it brings instability.”

However, there are a few industrialists who do not share this view. Speaking to The Telegraph, Venugopal Dhoot, chairman and managing director of the Videocon group of companies, said, “I don’t think bandhs have created any problem relating to investments in Bengal. Our group already has a total investment of Rs 300 crore and we are planning another Rs 1,000 crore investment in constructing an IT park.”

“On the contrary, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s efforts have gone a long way in attracting both domestic and overseas investments,” he added.

His views were echoed by Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto. Bajaj said, “I don’t think a couple of bandhs have the ability to spoil the investment climate. In recent times, all political parties in the state have expressed their enthusiasm in drawing huge investments. It is only when the acquisition of land becomes a political issue that such problems crop up.”

The survey reiterated that the bandhs will “provoke investors to take away their committed investments worth Rs 20,000 crore to other friendly states if the administration does not handle such calls with iron hands”.