‘Power’-ful problems haunt industries away from Bengaluru
One entrepreneur speaks out alleging power cuts of up to 16 hours every day is causing huge losses to industries in and around Tumakuru; energy minister refutes allegations
Deciding to shift his industrial unit from Peenya – South East Asia’s largest industrial hub in Bengaluru – to Tumakuru in 2007 at the behest of the state government, 40-year-old Vishal Gupta had dreamt of achieving greater heights. But eight years later, Vishal has only realised that he had done the worst mistake of his life by shifting his industry out of Bengaluru to a town considered as future smart city.
Reeling under erratic power cuts and poor infrastructure, Vishal’s industrial unit worth Rs 5 crore is incurring losses of over Rs 2 lakh every month!
Working hard to meet deadlines of his overseas clients, Vishal’s firm Filcomps, located at the Antharasanahalli Industrial Area on the outskirts of Tumakuru, is severely hit by erratic power supply and unscheduled power cuts ranging from 8 to 12 hours every day!
With no other alternative in sight, and to save his face at international level, Vishal has been spending Rs 2 lakh – which is his monthly profit – completely on diesel to run DG sets to keep his machines running 24X7 for manufacturing products. Sharing his plight due to power cuts, Vishal told Bangalore Mirror, are 143 other industries in the same industrial area. “The state government is organising ‘Invest Karnataka’ and the Union government is talking about ‘Make in India’; but I believe none of them are aware of the ground realities. You hardly get power to run your industry, besides the poor infrastructure,” Vishal revealed.
POWER-CUTS UP TO 16-HrS A DAY!
Recalling the past, Vishal said, “I had a successful business of manufacturing rubber sealing at Peenya. As I grew I thought of expanding and applied to KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) for land. They offered land at various places, out of which I chose Tumakuru for its proximity to Bengaluru. But after shifting to Tumakuru, I realised it was not a wise decision. Power cuts spanning 1-2 hours in 2008-09 now extend up to 16 hours in 2015.
I never had any problem as long as I was in Peenya. But all my troubles began when I shifted to Tumakuru. Government wants industrialists to shift to other districts. But then why can’t it provide uniform facilities to industries and why are the disparity between Bengaluru and other districts? We pay the same tax and pay same electricity tariff as Bengaluru. Yet, we are forgotten.”
But what has really angered the industrialists is the false promise by Bescom. “Other day an official communique from General Manager, Corporate Relations, Bescom, revealed that industries are provided round-the-clock power supply while only domestic units will witness power cuts. This is completely false; every day we are witnessing power cuts ranging from 12 to 16 hours. In fact, I have shut couple of machines due to the power cuts. Why should the government lie to industrialists who pay the highest bills every month?” Vishal questioned.
Due to power cuts and variation in voltage, he has also suffered tool loss worth Rs 1.6 lakh.
PROFITS NOW GO FOR DIESEL
Vishal’s industry used to get a monthly power bill ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1.65 lakh. “But since last month besides getting the same amount of bill we are paying our monthly profits of about Rs 2 lakh completely on diesel just to run the machines. In August alone, we have spent 1.5 lakh on diesel to run DG sets. Since September 1, in less than a week, we have spent Rs 60,000 on diesel. As we use heaters for pressing and moulding in different shifts, the machines need to run 24X7. But whenever the power goes, it takes at least 10-15 minutes to switch on the DG sets and by then the heat is lost. It consumes double the amount of power to get back the same intensity of heat.
Sometimes, my work force is made to sit idle due to power cuts. The more number of power cuts, more the money spent on diesel,” Vishal lamented.
Out of the 16 imported machines, today Vishal operates only 5-6 for lack of power. “Our overseas clients just cannot believe that industries in India face 12-16-hour power cuts every day. We are afraid to take any more orders though we have the capacity,” he said.
OFFICIALS NEVER RESPOND
A post-graduate in Management from CMR Institute, Vishal’s family initially urged him to take to trading. “But I was keen on manufacturing something and started my own firm producing rubber sealing. Fifty per cent of our products are exported to Europe and US. Although there is tremendous pressure to expand, I dare not considering the worst power scenario. What is worse is that there is none to listen to our problems? From the local section officer to the top level official in the energy department, they only pass the buck. Every month, we are invited to HT (high tension) power consumers meet to redress our problems. But when they are not ready to listen to us, what is the use in holding such meetings?”
The industrial area on either sides of Mumbai-Chennai National Highway (NH-48) in Tumakuru has 143 industrial units who are all HT consumers. “We are not the only ones to be affected due to erratic power supply. There are close to 150 other industries facing a similar situation. The more we complain, the more they ask us to speak to the energy minister D K Shivakumar. Our SMSs and calls to the general manager, corporate relations at Bescom, have gone unanswered. While the industrial area needs 220 Mw of power every day, it only supplies 40-45 Mw. Due to this, the officials have no alternatives but to introduce power cuts,” Vishal said.
This apart, Vishal had paid Rs 2.6 lakh towards water supply to his industry. But today they hardly get water and rely on private water tankers. “We were promised to be provided with Hemavathi water and made to pay in lakhs. Our water requirement is only to wash our labourers’ hands and other general use. Even then we do not get water. As a result we depend on private tankers and rainwater.”
ENERGY MINISTER SAYS CLAIMS ARE FALSE
Throwing light on the plight of industrialist, Bangalore Mirror brought the issue to the notice of energy minister D K Shivakumar. However, Shivakumar clarified that they have been supplying power round the clock to the industries. “I feel that what industries are saying is completely false. There is no question of compromising with industry and we have been supplying power round the clock to industries. In fact, our transmission system is so open that everything is put up on the website. If we are lying, anybody can log in and find out for themselves how much we are generating and supplying to the industries,” Shivakumar
clarified.
Deciding to shift his industrial unit from Peenya – South East Asia’s largest industrial hub in Bengaluru – to Tumakuru in 2007 at the behest of the state government, 40-year-old Vishal Gupta had dreamt of achieving greater heights. But eight years later, Vishal has only realised that he had done the worst mistake of his life by shifting his industry out of Bengaluru to a town considered as future smart city.
Reeling under erratic power cuts and poor infrastructure, Vishal’s industrial unit worth Rs 5 crore is incurring losses of over Rs 2 lakh every month!
Working hard to meet deadlines of his overseas clients, Vishal’s firm Filcomps, located at the Antharasanahalli Industrial Area on the outskirts of Tumakuru, is severely hit by erratic power supply and unscheduled power cuts ranging from 8 to 12 hours every day!
With no other alternative in sight, and to save his face at international level, Vishal has been spending Rs 2 lakh – which is his monthly profit – completely on diesel to run DG sets to keep his machines running 24X7 for manufacturing products. Sharing his plight due to power cuts, Vishal told Bangalore Mirror, are 143 other industries in the same industrial area. “The state government is organising ‘Invest Karnataka’ and the Union government is talking about ‘Make in India’; but I believe none of them are aware of the ground realities. You hardly get power to run your industry, besides the poor infrastructure,” Vishal revealed.
POWER-CUTS UP TO 16-HrS A DAY!
Recalling the past, Vishal said, “I had a successful business of manufacturing rubber sealing at Peenya. As I grew I thought of expanding and applied to KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board) for land. They offered land at various places, out of which I chose Tumakuru for its proximity to Bengaluru. But after shifting to Tumakuru, I realised it was not a wise decision. Power cuts spanning 1-2 hours in 2008-09 now extend up to 16 hours in 2015.
I never had any problem as long as I was in Peenya. But all my troubles began when I shifted to Tumakuru. Government wants industrialists to shift to other districts. But then why can’t it provide uniform facilities to industries and why are the disparity between Bengaluru and other districts? We pay the same tax and pay same electricity tariff as Bengaluru. Yet, we are forgotten.”
But what has really angered the industrialists is the false promise by Bescom. “Other day an official communique from General Manager, Corporate Relations, Bescom, revealed that industries are provided round-the-clock power supply while only domestic units will witness power cuts. This is completely false; every day we are witnessing power cuts ranging from 12 to 16 hours. In fact, I have shut couple of machines due to the power cuts. Why should the government lie to industrialists who pay the highest bills every month?” Vishal questioned.
Due to power cuts and variation in voltage, he has also suffered tool loss worth Rs 1.6 lakh.
PROFITS NOW GO FOR DIESEL
Vishal’s industry used to get a monthly power bill ranging from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1.65 lakh. “But since last month besides getting the same amount of bill we are paying our monthly profits of about Rs 2 lakh completely on diesel just to run the machines. In August alone, we have spent 1.5 lakh on diesel to run DG sets. Since September 1, in less than a week, we have spent Rs 60,000 on diesel. As we use heaters for pressing and moulding in different shifts, the machines need to run 24X7. But whenever the power goes, it takes at least 10-15 minutes to switch on the DG sets and by then the heat is lost. It consumes double the amount of power to get back the same intensity of heat.
Sometimes, my work force is made to sit idle due to power cuts. The more number of power cuts, more the money spent on diesel,” Vishal lamented.
Out of the 16 imported machines, today Vishal operates only 5-6 for lack of power. “Our overseas clients just cannot believe that industries in India face 12-16-hour power cuts every day. We are afraid to take any more orders though we have the capacity,” he said.
OFFICIALS NEVER RESPOND
A post-graduate in Management from CMR Institute, Vishal’s family initially urged him to take to trading. “But I was keen on manufacturing something and started my own firm producing rubber sealing. Fifty per cent of our products are exported to Europe and US. Although there is tremendous pressure to expand, I dare not considering the worst power scenario. What is worse is that there is none to listen to our problems? From the local section officer to the top level official in the energy department, they only pass the buck. Every month, we are invited to HT (high tension) power consumers meet to redress our problems. But when they are not ready to listen to us, what is the use in holding such meetings?”
The industrial area on either sides of Mumbai-Chennai National Highway (NH-48) in Tumakuru has 143 industrial units who are all HT consumers. “We are not the only ones to be affected due to erratic power supply. There are close to 150 other industries facing a similar situation. The more we complain, the more they ask us to speak to the energy minister D K Shivakumar. Our SMSs and calls to the general manager, corporate relations at Bescom, have gone unanswered. While the industrial area needs 220 Mw of power every day, it only supplies 40-45 Mw. Due to this, the officials have no alternatives but to introduce power cuts,” Vishal said.
This apart, Vishal had paid Rs 2.6 lakh towards water supply to his industry. But today they hardly get water and rely on private water tankers. “We were promised to be provided with Hemavathi water and made to pay in lakhs. Our water requirement is only to wash our labourers’ hands and other general use. Even then we do not get water. As a result we depend on private tankers and rainwater.”
ENERGY MINISTER SAYS CLAIMS ARE FALSE
Throwing light on the plight of industrialist, Bangalore Mirror brought the issue to the notice of energy minister D K Shivakumar. However, Shivakumar clarified that they have been supplying power round the clock to the industries. “I feel that what industries are saying is completely false. There is no question of compromising with industry and we have been supplying power round the clock to industries. In fact, our transmission system is so open that everything is put up on the website. If we are lying, anybody can log in and find out for themselves how much we are generating and supplying to the industries,” Shivakumar
clarified.
