Over 400 textile-dye processing units here were closed on Friday in protest against the hike in gas prices by Gujarat Gas Company Ltd (GSCL).

“Around 450 units have gone on indefinite strike, impacting about 10 lakh employees,” the South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA) president, Mr Pramod Chaudhary said.

“The strike will lead to production loss of Rs 4.5 crore metres of cloth per day, worth Rs 150 crore,” he claimed.

GSCL, a UK-based BG group company, had recently increased the gas price from Rs 11.50 to Rs 16.64 per standard cubic feet (pscf) for the industry, an SGTPA member said.

“In the past couple of years, the gas prices have shot up by more than 45 per cent, making operations unviable for the industry,” Mr Chaudhary said. “We will be meeting the Minister of State for Industry, Mr Saurabh Patel, in this regard soon,” he said.

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