POwer woes ail Khadi industry

VISHAL SHARMA
AGRA. The Khadi industry of the country is almost completely dependent on the cotton slivers produced in the six Central Sliver Plants of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission spread all over the country, catering to the cotton sliver requirements of the Khadi units in their respective areas.
Lately, the prices of Khadi in North India have been taking a steep upward climb and most Khadi producing units in UP, Rajasthan, Delhi and other north Indian states blame this price hike to the rise in the prices of raw cotton slivers being supplied by the Central Sliver Plant in Etah, about 85 km. away from Agra.
But the officials at the Central Sliver Plant in Etah have their own reasons for this price hike, blaming it to the rise in fuel prices. Talking to Business Standard, R.S. Pandey, Director, Central Sliver Plant Etah said that the Khadi prices were subject to the cotton sliver cost and availability and in North India, the Sliver plant at Etah was the only unit catering to the demands of over 250 Khadi manufacturing units like Gandhi Ashrams, Khadi & Village Industries Centers and other linked units in the northern states of India including Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Uttaranchal, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and providing employment to about 40 thousand people associated with the Khadi industry.
He said that the plant had been established in 1993 and became functional in 1997; producing 600 Metric Tonnes of cotton sliver tapes worth over Rs. 6 crores every year but ever since it was brought into function, the plant had been facing an acute shortage of power supply despite getting about 2.5 km. of power lines laid at the cost of Rs. 26.06 lacs for a 250 KVA power connection but being connected to the rural feeder, the plant faced frequent powercuts and in 1999, electricity to the plant was finally disconnected by the UP Power Corporation Ltd. without specifying any reason.
Since then, he said, the plant had been running on diesel generators which meant an increase of almost Rs. 3000 in the prices of cotton slivers per 1000 units of electricity produced by the plant’s internal generators. He said that the plant management had taken up this matter with the State Consumer Forum but till then, over the past six years, the prices of cotton slivers had risen by almost double due to the steep rise in diesel prices.
According to Mr. Pandey, the plant management was now coming close to a settlement with the UP Power Corporation Ltd. for laying down fresh power lines, reconnecting the plant to the industrial electricity feeder which was expected to slash down the Khadi prices significantly.

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