Lambasting the state government over the forced weekly off imposed on the industry amid power crisis in the state, various industrial organisations staged a protest at the cycle market on Gill road.
The organisations warned the state government that the industry would operate the units despite restrictions, if the forced weekly off for the large-scale industry is further extended by the government after 8am on July 11.
Burning an effigy of chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh, who also holds the power portfolio, the industrialists stated that the government would be responsible for any accident in the grids and the industry will move the court if the state government imposes penalties for operating the units amid restrictions.
Ruing losses running into thousands of crores, the industrialists said that it had never happened in the history of the state that the industry was forcibly closed for over a week.
Members of different industrial associations including Fastener Manufacturers Association of India, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA), Furnace Alliance Association, Federation of Industries, Ludhiana Steel Broker Association, Fastener Suppliers association of India, Moti nagar United Factory association, Federation of Associations of Small Industries in India among others participated in the protest.
Stating that the industry had suffered production losses of over 20,000 crore and revenue loss of over 5,000 crore in the last 10 days, president of FOPSIA, Badish Jindal, said, “This restriction has directly affected 10,000 industrial units and indirectly affected 2 lakh industrial units who do labour jobs for large units or provide raw material. The steel and yarn production has been badly hit in the state and the 35-lakh labour/staff have been forced to sit at homes. The exports of more than 1,000 crore are at risk and the multinational companies are boycotting the industry in Punjab due to delays in supply of material.”
{{/usCountry}}Stating that the industry had suffered production losses of over 20,000 crore and revenue loss of over 5,000 crore in the last 10 days, president of FOPSIA, Badish Jindal, said, “This restriction has directly affected 10,000 industrial units and indirectly affected 2 lakh industrial units who do labour jobs for large units or provide raw material. The steel and yarn production has been badly hit in the state and the 35-lakh labour/staff have been forced to sit at homes. The exports of more than 1,000 crore are at risk and the multinational companies are boycotting the industry in Punjab due to delays in supply of material.”
{{/usCountry}}Slamming the state government for its alleged mismanagement which led to the crisis, the industrialists rued that they were already reeling under losses due to the pandemic and the power crises had added to their woes. The industrialists stated that the CM should step down from the power ministry and the government will pay in the upcoming assembly elections.
President of the Fastener Manufacturers Association of India, Narinder Bhamra, said, “The government should have made proper arrangements as it knows that power demand increases during the paddy season. It is only due to the failure on the part of the government that the industry is witnessing blackout for the last 10 days, which has never happened in the history of the state. We cannot bear any more losses and the industry will commence operations even if the government extends the forced weekly off.”
President of the Furnace Alliance Association, Mahesh Gupta, said that the industry paid hefty power bills, but the state had still failed to provide uninterrupted power supply.
If the crisis continues, we will be forced to raise the agitation to the next level and if needed we will also protest outside the CM’s residence, said the industrialists.
On July 1, industries in the central and north zones of the state were asked to close their units for 48 hours for the first time. Subsequent orders extended the curbs for another day. The general industry was only able to work on July 5 and 6, before three weekly offs were imposed on July 7 and subsequently extended for another day (July 11). In the latest orders, the directions for power shutdown for industry which were already applicable since July 7 to 11, were further extended by three days till July 14. However, the threshold limit of 50 KVA to industry was increased to 100 KVA giving relief to small units.