Rain-battered infra has BBN industry reeling under losses

Ambika Sharma

Solan, August 26

The industrial hub of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) is reeling under losses running into several crores with each passing day compounding their woes. The reason: Heavy rainfall over the past two months.

The extensive damage caused to the road and power infrastructure has impeded the pace of industrial production.

Old bridges damaged

• Sixteen minor and five major bridges are to be constructed on the Pijore-Nalagarh highway, which is being widened to fourlanes
• Old bridges have been damaged as these were not designed to withstand the weight of thousands of heavy vehicles that ply on these every day
• Illegal mining around these bridges is also a key reason that led to the weakening of their foundations

While the Pinjore-Baddi national highway (NH-105) is closed since July 9 after the collapse of bridges at Kiratpur, Marrawala, Charnia and Balad in the adjoining Haryana, the breakdown of the Balad bridge on the Baddi-Pinjore highway on August 23 has further compounded the industrialists’ problems.

This industrial cluster houses about 1,800 units, mainly producing pharmaceutical items, fast-moving consumer goods, besides engineering and textile items.

“The BBN industrial belt has an annual turnover of Rs 60,000 crore and contributes over 40 per cent of the state’s revenue. However, road closure, traffic diversions and frequent disruptions in power supply this monsoon season have severely hampered industrial activity, leading to huge losses,” said Gagan Kapoor, Himachal CII Chairman.

With transportation facilities coming to a standstill, industrial units are neither able to receive raw material nor dispatch finished goods. Many units have been forced to stop or curtail production by up to 40 per cent.

“Due to the closure of the Pinjore-Baddi road, traffic has been diverted through the narrow Pinjore-Kalka-Kalujhanda road, leading to traffic jams. This is causing considerable loss in productivity with two-three hours of manpower getting wasted every day,” said Surinder, a human resource official of a firm manufacturing domestic appliances.

“The alternative route from Panchkula to Baddi through Siswan has its own woes as frequent landslides have curtailed the transportation options for industrialists. The condition of the Marrawala-Barotiwala road has also deteriorated, making it unsuitable for vehicular traffic,” he added.

Moreover, industrial units in Baddi are facing unscheduled power cuts that sometimes extend up to 48 hours,” said Rajiv Kumar, another entrepreneur.

The Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Industries Association and the CII Himachal State Council have requested the government to depute National Disaster Response Force teams to restore the road connectivity to Baddi and impress upon the Centre to provide adequate grants for rebuilding roads and other infrastructure.