Lamenting losses due to frequent bandhs, FAPCCI has appealed to political parties not to involve commercial activities in bandh calls.
Lamenting the enormous loss of production and fall in exports tax revenue to the state on accounts of frequent bandhs and shutdowns, the FAPCCI on Thursday appealed to political parties not to involve the industry and trade and other commercial activities in bandh calls.
The FAPCCI also appealed to agitators that they ask their volunteers not to disturb the normal functioning of industry and trade, nor to forcibly close factories, nor cause damage to property and personnel.
FAPCCI president V S Raju told media persons that the frequent bandhs are a matter of concern, with industry, trade and services being grievously hurt.
Raju pointed out that daily-wage earners are losing their wages while students are losing out on their education.
He also said the industry is incurring the wrath of its customers.
"In these days of tough competition and just-in-time supply chain management, the delays and uncertainty in getting their orders executed by the industry in the state are of major concern; the industry is finding it difficult to convince its customers to put up with the delays and uncertainty. It is becoming a herculean task for industrialists to assuage the angry and agitated customers and get repeat orders from them," he said.
He said that the momentum of development in Hyderabad was built over the decades, and that this momentum kept Hyderabad going forward.
He added that had it not been for the ongoing unrest, Hyderabad and AP would have recorded a much higher industrial and economic growth, since the city has reasonablly good infrastructure in terms of roads, airport, IT connectivity and the availability of skilled manpower, among others.
He lamented the fact that the city's image as a preferred investment destination is now getting tarnished.
He said the growth rate of the IT sector was also affected quite adversely over the last few years, as investors are looking at destinations like Chennai, Pune, NCR and Bangalore, where there is more vibrancy. As a result, getting new businesses into Hyderabad is becoming a difficult task, given the uncertainty and instability prevailing in the state, he said.
If the state loses its revenues, which are essential for development and welfare programs, the growth of the state's economy also slows down, he said.
FAPCCI also appealed to the government to take appropriate measures so that industry and trade is not affected.
Loss of production in different industrial estates in and around Hyderabad is around 25-30%, while the drop in power consumption in APCPDCL is around 900 MW, out of which the drop in power consumption is around 350 MW. The normal consumption of power for the industry is around 1,200 MW. The production loss from this figure is also around 25-30%, the FAPCCI chief said.
The estimated loss of production is around Rs. 300 to Rs. 350 crore; and the loss due to dislocation of supply chains is around Rs. 150 to Rs. 180 crore. The total loss is around Rs. 400 crore to Rs. 500 crore, taking into account only the loss of production from industries in and around Hyderabad. (INN)