With erratic power supply in Ludhiana’s designated industrial areas leading to significant production losses and growing frustration among industrialists, questions are being raised about the Punjab government’s claim of the state having surplus power, and industry leaders are even talking about shifting operations out of the state.
Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (FICO), said, “My bicycle parts unit is located in Industrial Focal Point, Phase 8, Ludhiana. On Monday, we faced a power cut at 10.30 am and there has been no supply since then. There are 1,145 industrial units in this phase alone and more than 8,000 units spread across the eight phases of the Industrial Focal Point. This is a designated industrial area. We pay around Rs 10 per unit after all taxes. And what kind of power supply are we getting in return? We cannot afford this kind of erratic power supply—it causes us heavy losses.”
There are other designated industrial areas as well with thousands of units.
Kular added, “On Wednesday, several industrial associations will meet the Punjab chief minister and the newly inducted Industry Minister Sanjeev Arora in Chandigarh. Our main concern is the unreliable power supply in these designated areas. If there is no power, how are we expected to function? It’s a simple question.”
