Farmers’ stir hits Ambala scientific goods industry
Nitish Sharma
Ambala, February 24
The scientific goods manufacturing industry in Ambala has started facing the impact of the ongoing standoff between the government and farmer unions.
The manufacturers said due to the closure of inter-state borders and diversions, they were not getting the raw material in time, affecting the production and delivery of goods. Due to the diversions, the cost of transportation has also increased.
There are around 2,000 small and big units in Ambala that are involved in the manufacturing of glassware, electronics products, educational instruments and other scientific apparatus.
Diversions delay consignments
Due to diversions, consignments are not getting delivered in time and customers are hesitating in placing new orders. —Arun P Bansal, Manufacturer
Arun P Bansal, a scientific goods manufacturer and an exporter, said, “Due to the diversions, consignments are not getting delivered in time and customers are hesitating in placing new orders. As we are not getting raw materials, production is also getting affected. We get metal casting from Phagwara and some raw material from Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Delhi, but the transporters are not committing delivery.”
Similarly, Gaurav Soni, scientific apparatus manufacturer, said, “The suspension of mobile Internet has also been a major cause of inconvenience. We have been facing difficulties in GST return filing, generating e-way bills and one-time passwords (OTPs). Since the products are not getting dispatched in time, the payment circle has also been disturbed. The issue should be resolved soon else the industry will face heavy losses.”
Umesh Gupta, president, Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers and Exporters (SAME), said, “The manufacturers in Ambala have been facing issues in timely delivery of goods and procuring raw material.
