The Hindu Business Line : Power situation: SIMA wants CM to intervene

Coimbatore, March 9 The Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), Coimbatore, has sought the intervention of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to streamline power distribution in the State to enable the textile industry minimise losses.

The association fears that if the acute power shortage is allowed to disrupt the working of the mills, the Tamil Nadu-based units would see flight of business to other States and to competing countries.

In a press statement here, Dr K.V. Srinivasan, Chairman, SIMA, said the textile industry in Tamil Nadu, which was reeling under the impact of appreciation of the Indian rupee against the dollar, increase in interest rates and the 5-10 per cent drop in yarn prices, had been dealt a body blow by the 25 per cent increase in cotton prices and the 25 per cent to 30 per cent power shortage.

He said in view of the crucial role played by the textile industry in the country’s economy, it was imperative that cotton export was streamlined and the 1 per cent duty drawback extended to cotton exports and the 10 per cent import duty on cotton were withdrawn.

The SIMA Chairman appealed to the Union Government to control the spiralling cotton prices failing which the entire industry would become sick. Government should consider permitting cotton export only through organisations like the Cotton Corporation of India and the Maharashtra Federation to ensure only surplus cotton was exported after meeting the domestic demand.

Dr Srinivasan said the unprecedented power shortage in Tamil Nadu has hit the textile industry badly. Though the industry had agreed to the rotational power holiday on the assurance that uninterrupted power supply would be maintained during the other six days in a week, the TNEB has asked mills not to draw power from the grid during peak hours and use captive power instead. There were unscheduled power shut-downs for 1 to 2 hours and all this would hit the production by over 35 per cent.

He said the cloth imports had doubled already and “competing countries and other states would take advantage of the situation and grab all the customers.”

He said despite frequent representations, the TNEB has not come out with a concrete proposal to apportion the shortage uniformly across the state, announce suitable power holidays and supply uninterrupted power during the remaining period.

More Stories on : Textiles | Power | Tamil Nadu

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