'K'taka spinning mills facing closure'

Bangalore, Mar 28 (UNI) The spinning mills in Karnataka were facing closure due to the adverse power tariff policy adopted by the Karnataka Government, Karnataka Textile Mills' Association Chairman C Valliappa claimed today.

Addressing the 37th annual general meeting of the Association here, he said the spinning industry was suffering from high power costs, the Minimum Wages Act, lack of consumption centres and other logistics support from the State Government.

Mr Valliappa pointed out that while power was being supplied to spinning mills in Andhra Pradesh at Rs 3.05 per unit, it was Rs 4.80 in Karnataka. The situation of spinning mills in rural areas were worse due to non-availability of quality power and high cost of captive generation.

Holding the enforcement of Minimum Wages Act as another impediment for spinning mills, he said spinning mills in Karnataka should be kept out of the purview of the Act and workload and productivity should be the guidance factors for fixing wages.

Mr Valliappa said the spinning mill industry was not in a position to consume the cotton produced in the State due to lack of consumption centres for yarn in the State. Only ten per cent of the total cotton produced in the State was being consumed by the mills.

Karnataka Textiles Minister B Sriramulu, who also spoke on the occasion, assured that the State Government was ready to listen to their grievances and solve their problems. The State Government wanted to revive the spinning industry in the State, which offered huge employment opportunities, he added.

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