Industries in Kutch feel the heat of delayed monsoon

The delayed monsoon has badly affected not just agriculture,but the industrial sector as well; and now Kutch,the largest district in Gujarat,which largely depends on water supply from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited,is feeling the pinch.

The delayed monsoon has badly affected not just agriculture,but the industrial sector as well; and now Kutch,the largest district in Gujarat,which largely depends on water supply from the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited,is feeling the pinch.

Following the dire water crisis,over 20 per cent of the units with no storage or very less storage capacity had to close down operations,in the face of recurrent losses,while medium and large scale units with some water reserves will operate for a few additional days. But now,they too are on the verge of closing down.

A regular water supply is expected to help the industries utilise their full production capacity and survive the financial meltdown. Little wonder then that the industry is now suffering huge losses.

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Nimish Phadke,secretary of the Federation of Kutch Industries Association said: At present,the units in Kutch are having a capacity to annually produce goods worth Rs 75,000 crore. Due to the erratic water supply in this sluggish time,the production loss is to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore per annum.

The Narmada pipeline that supplies water to Kutch has a capacity of 200 MLD of which 150 MLD is for drinking purpose and 50 MLD is for the industries in the region.

Phadke added: Water supply was curtailed in the end of April 2009 and since then the industry had been somehow managing operations with limited usage.

He said the situation further deteriorated from May 29,2009 onwards when the supply was completely discontinued. The industries in the region are paying water charges for the amount of water they are being supplied with,he added.

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The various incentive schemes by the state and the Centre post-earthquake had attracted huge industrial investment to the region.

Industrialists say the farmlands in and around Surendranagar and Halvad have been reportedly drawing water from the open canal continuously,leading to loss of water supply to the tail end of Kutch. The present water requirement for industries in Kutch is around 200 MLD,but since the inception of the Narmada pipeline,the water supply to the industries has been erratic,if one goes by the supply figure of the last five years.

We have been requesting the state government and Chief Minister Narendra Modi to instruct the concerned authorities to ensure the required water supply to industries on a war footing, said Rasik Mamotra,also a secretary of the federation.

The industries here are now hoping that the government will push forward two projects,including beginning work for the 150 MLD seawater desalination plant to cater to the water requirement,as also lay a dedicated 200 MLD pipeline for industries from Radhanpur.

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