Power starved factories in Hosur apprehend closure

Hosur (Tamil Nadu) Oct.27 : Factory workers and industrialists in Tamil Nadu's Hosur area are upset over the acute power shortage, which is causing lay offs and a concern for social security for all here.

Hosur is a town and a municipality in Krishnagiri district here. But consequent to heavy load shedding, the small, medium and even large scale units have felt compelled to lay off their workforce.

The State industrial Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu, (SIPCOT) had developed this industrial estate at Hosur by capitalising on the infrastructure of metropolitan Bangalore, which is just an hour long drive from here.

Spread over 1370 acres, SIPCOT's Hosur Industrial Estate, when set up in early 1970s, was reckoned to be the biggest of its kind in India with over 500 units including plants of corporate majors like TVS, Ashok Leyland, Tata's Titan watch division, Birlas, TI group among others.

But today frequent load shedding has created serious problems. The power cuts stretch up to 10 hours in a day. The trend has worried both the owners and the employees.

"We are undergoing lot of problems now a days because daily there is around about 8 to 10 hours of load-shedding. In such a condition, it's next to impossible for us to meet the demands of our clients and consumers. Soon Government should take measures to help and support us," said Kamal, owner of a steel fabrication unit.

The industries in SIPCOT Industrial Estate at Hosur have been the source of progressive livelihood for the people in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri Districts.

Likewise, many hailing from the neighbouring Bangalore (Karnataka) have benefitted from the industries in Hosur. These are in every productive sector from automobiles, chemicals, electrical and electronic to iron and steel re-rolling and information technology (IT).

"We had a word with administration in context of load shedding. We can't run our factory beyond five hours because of load shedding. Even workers are leaving this place because of all of these problems," said Sudhir, owner of Shakhtivel Welded Components.

For the past two months, the units in Hosur have been compelled to endure such long and frequent power cuts.

Although the overall losses due to this are yet to be assessed, the real losers are the poor casual employees for whom 'no work, no pay' means going to bed with an empty stomach. y Arun Kannan

ANI