Faridabad, Jhajjar factories bear brunt of genset ban
Bijendra Ahlawat & Ravinder Saini
Tribune News Service
Faridabad/Jhajjar, January 11
The ban on generator sets to improve the air quality index (AQI) has hit the industries in Faridabad and Jhajjar districts hard with the production coming to a standstill during long power cuts being imposed daily.
The situation has forced the industrialists of both the districts to take up the issue with the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region, seeking permission to use gensets. Both the districts have more than 30,000 large, medium and small scale industrial units, which provide direct and indirect employment to lakhs of people.
“The long power cuts halt the production due to which a majority of the units fail to fulfil their commitment towards the market, making them suffer losses,” said BR Bhatia, president, Faridabad Industries Association.
Rajiv Chawla, president, Integrated Association of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (IAMSME) of India, said the ban was a major stumbling block. “Gensets are used only for backup during power failures, severe scarcity and interruptions in supply. The recent downpour led to major power disruptions, resulting in losses and threat of order cancellations for the manufacturing units. Already reeling under the Covid crisis, the industry is now facing a tough situation due to curbs on gensets and fuel,” he added.
Narinder Chhikara, senior vice-president, Bahadurgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Jhajjar, said having suffered a huge loss for over a year during the farm agitation, industries in the town were now grappling with power cuts. “Besides halting the production, power cuts also pose a serious threat to the safety of employees, especially in those units where machines need to cool down after being switched off. In case of power failure, such machines are cooled down by using diesel gensets, which takes at least two hours. These machines cause fire if the process of cooling down is not completed in time,” he added.
Rahul Verma, SDO, UHBVN, Bahadurgarh, said adequate power supply was being given to the industries in the town. No industrialist had lodged complaints regarding power cuts so far, he added.
AQI BETTER, LIFT CURBS
The ban on gensets was imposed when the AQI had gone worse. Since now it has improved hence the ban should be lifted so as to bail the industries out of crisis. BR Bhatia, president, faridabad industries association
