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The shutdown of MCF (Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers) units is likely to have an impact on the availability of fertilizers in Karnataka.
The company has shut down its ammonia, urea and ammonium bi-carbonate (ABC) plants from May 14 as the Mangalore City Corporation has cut down the supply of water to the MCF plant following the depletion of water level at Thumbe vented dam near Mangaluru.
Sources in the company told BusinessLine that the MCF cannot resume production till monsoon arrives in the region.
It has already communicated this to the Centre. Stating that a major portion of MCF’s fertilizers is sold in Karnataka, sources said ‘Mangala Urea’ is the preferred brand among farmers in the State. The company produces around 1,300 tonnes of ‘Mangala Urea’ a day. Considering the delayed onset of monsoon as predicted by Met department and private weather forecasters, there may not be production of fertilizer for another 20-25 days.
MCF gets water from Thumbe vented dam near Mangaluru. The water requirement of the MCF complex is around 1.6 million gallons a day (MGD). Sources said MCF was getting around 2 MGD of water from the reservoir earlier.
The company reduced the consumption to around 1.6 MGD after initiating several water conservation measures.
Reporting the shutdown to the stock exchanges on Tuesday, the company’s statement said: “Due to depletion of reservoir level at Thumbe vented dam which supplies water to Mangalore city, including to the company, and the delayed pre-monsoon showers, the district administration/Mangalore City Corporation has reduced the supply of water from May 14, 2019. As the water storage level has reached the dead stock level, the company has taken shut down of Ammonia, Urea and ABC plants with effect from May 14, 2019. The production will resume once the water is available.”
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