COIMBATORE - This Diwali could turn out to be a bleak one for industries in the region, facing the prospect of laying off half or almost all their workers in the absence of quality power to run their units.
Captains of a cross section of industry like <link _top>foundry, pump and motors and engineering are unanimous in saying that lay offs of a large number of workers might lead to 'social unrest' in the state.
The region, with 50000 large, small and medium industries, including export oriented ones, has called for stoppage of production to protest against powercuts. Load shedding now ranges from six to 10 hours, affecting production of more than Rs 100 crore daily, they say.
They want the government to act fast and supply adequate power and distribute it equitably.
A majority of the 400 <link _top>foundries have already effected 10 to 15 per cent lay off and will increase it to 20 to 25 per cent, with the government announcing an official power cut,effective from November 1, Aditya Balasundaram, president of local chapter of Indian Institute of <link _top>Foundrymen, said.
Despite production loss, industries are not retrenching workers, but allowing them to sit idle during power cut. "If the government fails to rectify the anomalies in the power sector, more retrenchment will occur, leading to unemployment and resultant social unrest," Aditya said.
