South Gujarat textile units run out of industrial gas

Textile units in south Gujarat run out of gas forced to pull their shutters down for 10 days, after Gujarat Gas, a subsidiary of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd has stopped supply of industrial gas.

Gas is not available from spot markets. Supply has not been stopped to consumers and essential industries. But supply to non-essential industries like textiles and chemical units has been stopped, a source said.

The South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA) has made representations to the state government to find out the solution to the issue.

The STGPA office-bearers have expressed fear that more than 20 financially weak textile mills may down their shutters permanently following the curtailment of gas supply.

If the gas supply is not restored before January 25, more than 20 financially weak textile processing units will close permanently. They have strongly represented the issue to the top authorities of Gujarat Gas and state government, said Jitu Vakharia, president, SGTPA.

The industries of Ankleshwar, Panoli and Jhagadia consume around 0.75 MMSCMD gas per day. The sudden cut in main fuel has affected the production and it will have a big impact on their export commitments and of course government will also lose revenue of excise and other taxes, said Vipul Gajera, president, Ankleshwar Industries Association (AIA).

Currently, production of around 1.5 crore metre polyster fabric a day has come to a standstill which has resulted in a loss of Rs 40 crore

There used to be supply shortages earlier, but this is the first time that supply has been affected completely, Vakharia said, adding that the issue was discussed with the Centre and the state earlier.

Moreover, the shutdown would affect livelihoods of at least 40,000 workers since the entire chain of production, distribution and supply has been disrupted.

Ashok Panjwani, president Jhagadia Industries Association, said that if this continue for long then many industries will be forced to convert on other fuels like coal etc.