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The public lament of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, that though there is installed generation capacity in the State, there is no gas linkage for the power plants, amply illustrates the lack of foresight on the part of the Government, according to many industrialists.
Mr O. Naresh Kumar, the Chief Executive Officer of Symbiosys, an IT company here, said there should have been contingency planning and the Government should have been better prepared. Now, the industry as well as agriculture are in serious trouble. The common man as well as all sections of the public are suffering. There was no attempt to foresee the situation and take steps in advance, he said. Many of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) supplying components to the bigger public sector units here such as the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Hindusthan Shipyard and the BHPV are finding it difficult to execute the orders and meet their commitments, as the power situation is so bad, with power holiday for three days and many unscheduled cuts.
The position is alarming and we will be left with no option but to suspend production altogether, said Mr Raju, Proprietor of a foundry in the Autonagar area. The bigger units may have the option of captive power, but it was too expensive for the SMEs, he added. The President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries (FAPI), Mr B.V Rama Rao, said the ineptitude of the State Government in dealing with the power problem was all too evident and many of the units would have to stop production. He said the jute units in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts were in a total mess because of the power problem. Many of them would have to declare lock-out and suspend production and thousands would be rendered jobless in the labour-intensive units, he alleged. The position of the other industries was equally bad. He wanted the State Government to supply generators and equipment to the industries on a subsidy and also provide diesel at a cheaper rate, abolishing the tax on it. It is the minimum that the State Government should do for the industry, he said .
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