Amid farm unrest, steel cos to unload wagons at Ballabhgarh

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 20

As the industry in Punjab and Chandigarh is grappling with shortage of primary steel due to prolonged farmers’ unrest and railway obstructions, steel companies have decided to dispatch rake load of steel to Ballabhgarh railway station in Faridabad instead of Punjab. The companies have asked the industry to transport consignments to their respective facilities via road network.

According to estimates, almost 27-28 rakes of various steel producers meant for Punjab’s industry are stuck at various locations due to the farmers’ agitation. Each rake has a capacity of carrying 3,000 tonnes of steel and consists of around 50 wagons, with each wagon carrying 60 tonnes of steel.

“Due to ongoing agitation by the farmers, rake dispatches in Punjab and Chandigarh have been disrupted in October. It is understood that almost 27 to 28 rakes of various steel producers are in the pipeline. Therefore, in order to serve customers under the prevailing conditions, it is planned to dispatch rake load of steel materials to Ballabhgarh,” stated an email sent by a steel producer to customers. Though this initiative of the steel producers seems to bring respite to the industry, additional transportation cost and time lost in transit is acting as a stumbling block for industrialists.

“On an average, the industry has to shell out Rs 1,500 per tonne extra in terms of additional transportation cost to bring the raw material from Ballabhgarh to their manufacturing unit by road. Secondly, 2-3 days are wasted in transit which is deterrent to industry,” said Badish Jindal, an industrialist from Ludhiana. The industry has asked steel companies to subsidise the freight.

Industrialists also complained that it’s not a viable proposition for small manufacturers whose requirement is 10-20 tonnes.