350 Panipat industrial units shut due to LPG shortage

Panipat’s handloom and textile industry, which had already been under pressure due to the Russia-Ukraine war and US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, has been badly hit by the shortage of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) due to the ongoing war in West Asia.Exports, primarily of handloom products, account for Rs 18,000 crore out of Panipat’s Rs 60,000-crore annual turnover. However, as many as 350 dyeing units have been shut down due to shortage of LPG while, around 150 industrial units, which run on Piped Natural Gas (PNG), have seen supply drop to 60 per cent of capacity.Virbhan Singla, president, Old Industrial Area Association, said industrial units dependent on LPG had been closed but units using PNG were still operational. “The government has allowed industries to use biomass fuel or other fuels to continue operations,” he said. Nitin Arora, president, Panipat Dyers’ Association, said Sector-29 (Part-2) was a dyeing sector with 350 operational units. Of these, more than 150 units have been forced to shut down on account of LPG shortage. “More than one lakh people are directly or indirectly employed in the dyeing sector are at risk and export houses are also badly affected since dyeing is considered to be the mother of textile and handloom products,” he said.Vinod Dhamija, Chairman, Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, “Following the strictness of the pollution board departments, almost all the industrial units had switched to LPG or PNG by making changes to their boilers. Some big industries were using more than 30 cylinders per day while the small units used approximately 10-12 cylinders in a day.”“Owing to the shortage, the government has issued a notification to allow industries to use biomass or others fuels but almost all units dismantled the thermostat in their boilers during the shift to the gas two years ago. It is not viable to shift to other fuels at this time,” said Dhamija, adding that the government should provide at least 60 per cent LPG supply to the industry so that export orders can be completed on time and livelihoods of the lakhs employed by it could be saved. Gaurav Gupta, Assistant Director, Ministry for Textile, Government of India, had visited Panipat on Friday to take stock of the crisis, he said.

350 Panipat industrial units shut due to LPG shortage

PNG supply drops 60 per cent

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

350 Panipat industrial units shut due to LPG shortage

PNG supply drops 60 per cent

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

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