Power cut: Industries suffer Rs 225-cr loss in Hubli-Dharwad

The industrial estates at Gokul, Tarihal in Hubli and Belur in Dharwad account for about 1,500 industries providing jobs to an estimated 15,000 people. The load-shedding resorted to by Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) has left about 4,000 people jobless. The decline in revenue has also led to loss of Rs 25 crore to the government in the form of direct and indirect taxes.

“The ancillary units have to pay their workers even if there is no production. The manufacturers to whom we supply spare parts are blacklisting us for not honouring their orders on time,” said Federation of Commerce and Industry president, M C Hiremath.

A majority of the industrial units in Hubli-Dharwad manufacture plastic products and engineering equipment. “Machines at plastic manufacturing units need at least two hours to get heated by which time the power goes off. The raw material fed into the machine goes waste,” he explained. He said small entrepreneurs have no alternative but to shut down their industries.

The Hescom meeting of entrepreneurs on Thursday witnessed industrialists launched  a tirade against the power utility, said industry representatives who took part in the meeting.