In yet another setback, coal crisis saps Ludhiana industry’s energy in festive season

Already financially beleaguered due to back-to-back crises such as the coronavirus pandemic, frequent bandhs and the farmers’ rail-roko agitation, the industry is facing yet another setback in the form of a power crisis.

The frequent power cuts, ranging from four to five hours, have interrupted factory operations in Ludhiana, the industrial hub of the state. The latest crisis has hit the industry at a time when the festive season, which is when most sales take place, is just around the corner. Industrialists say they will lose crores if the crisis worsens.

Stakeholders say small industries, which had not quite recovered from the losses suffered during pandemic, will not be able to survive any more setbacks and may have to shut down for good.

No lessons learnt from July: Stakeholders

Lambasting the Union and state governments, industrial representatives said the Union and state governments had failed to coordinate with each other and had learnt nothing from the power crisis witnessed in July. Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA) president Badish Jindal said, “The Union government says there will be no shortage of coal supply, but the state government is unable to supply power. Unscheduled power cuts are already interrupting operations. Since the power cuts are unscheduled, the labourers sit idle and the factory owners have to pay them for their time.”

“The steel and plastic units are worst affected as they need continuous power supply. We were hoping to recover losses during the festive season, but the crisis has hit us at an importunate time,” he said.

The power supply had remained suspended for around 10 days due to the power crisis in July and the industry had to observe weekly offs.

“The industry collectively suffers a daily loss of around ₹500 crore, if operations are suspended, but the government continues to adopt a lackadaisical approach towards the problems,” said Jindal, adding that if the power cuts continue the export business will be next to be hit.

General Secretary of Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) Pankaj Sharma said the industry is already moving through a slump due to the pandemic, bandhs and shutdown calls given by various trade and non-trade groups along with disruptions in power supply. “Lack of government support in upgrading infrastructure and higher rates of bank interest has crippled the industry and around 25% of the MSME ( Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) industry has shutdown in the last two years.”

Members of the Janta Nagar Small Scale Manufacturers Association led by president Jaswinder Thukral also met with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Ludhiana chief engineer Bhupinder Khosla on Monday and sought an immediate solution.

Can’t run generators due to high price of diesel

Ludhiana Woollen Manufacturers Association and Knitwear Club president Darshan Dawar said it was the peak season for the hosiery industry. “Last year, too, business had been affected due to Covid and now again an unprecedented crises looms over the industry. It is unviable for the industry to run its operations on generators due to skyrocketing prices of diesel,” said Dawar.

United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) general secretary Manjinder Sachdeva said there was a need to shift from thermal energy to hydro, nuclear or wind energy. “The state government also needs to step up and provide an uninterrupted power supply. They could also purchase power from other states.”

Resolve power issue within 3 days: Beopar Mandal issues ultimatum

Taking issue with unscheduled power cuts, traders affiliated with the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal staged a protest against the PSPCL in the Chaura Bazar area on Monday and said they will gherao the homes of MPs and MLAs if the issue was not resolved within three days.

State general secretary, Sunil Mehra criticised the state government for failing to inform the industry about the power crisis in advance. “It is anticipated that the industry and trade in the state will suffer a loss of around ₹50,000 crore on a daily basis due to the prolonged power cuts.”

PSPCL, Ludhiana chief engineer Bhupinder Khosla said it is likely that the supply may remain affected for a few more days. “The Union and the state government are working to end the crisis. There is no problem with the distribution network, but the supply has reduced due to the nationwide crisis.”