The Mangaluru council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has sought relief for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company (Mescom) to mitigate the problems arising out of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a letter to Mescom MD, K Prakash Rao, Chairman of the Mangaluru council of CII, said that payment of electricity bill is one of the areas of concern for MSMEs at the time of the coronavirus outbreak.

He said that many MSMEs will find it difficult to pay March and April bills as the industry remains closed for most of this period on account of the lockdown announced by the Government.

He requested Mescom to defer the payment of electric bills for March, April and May by three months each. The minimum charges for the locked-down period should be waived as the closure was beyond the control of the unit, he said.

Stating that Punjab Government has provided similar relief to MSMEs in that state, he said these two measures will certainly help the entrepreneurs to keep their units running in spite of the liquidity crisis.

Explaining the problems being faced by the MSME sector due to the coronavirus outbreak, he said all the markets have been disrupted, and payments have stopped coming in. Most of the domestic and export orders are getting cancelled.

The nation-wide lockdown has taken the sector by surprise, though it understands that this is a necessary step. The Indian economy is surely heading for a recession, he said, adding: “We are going to find ourselves in a very tight spot in the months ahead. We are now seeking various measures from the State and Central governments to help the sector in these days of crisis”

He said the MSME sector is glad that all are responding positively and helping it wherever they can.

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