New Delhi, Sept 5 (KNN) The state of Plywood industry in Kerala after floods is very bad as near about 70 factories dealing in plywood trade suffered huge damages, M.M Mujeeb Rahman, President of Sawmill Owners & Plywood Manufacturers Association (SOPMA) told KNN.

He said, 400 factories deal in plywood trade in Perumbavoor out of which 70 factories were directly affected and of those 70, the condition of 40 factories is very grim.

He said the situation is out of control as damages are so large that it will be difficult to recover.

Because of floods, raw materials, machinery, finished plywood and electrification got damaged, he added.

There was so much water in the factories' basements that it drowned away all the equipments and machinery, said Rahman.

Concerned about the situation of plywood industry, Rahman said that the situation is so challenging at present that industrialists dealing in plywood have no option other than starting a business from scratch.

Talking about monetary losses, he said that losses would stand between Rs 16 lacs to Rs 2 crore per factory. 40 factories have suffered a monetary loss of Rs 2 crore each and while many of them suffered a loss in lakhs.

With regard to damages and losses, Rahman informed that the industries department has recently visited all factories and have collected all statements and details about the damages and loss from each one.

Expecting a support from government to restart the operations, Rahman said “we are expecting a loan amount of Rs 25 lacs for each factory without interest from government.

He said we are ready to pay the amount after recovery in a 1 or 2 year time but it should be without interest as factory owners are not in a situation to pay any kind of interest. The financial loss to the industry is unimaginable and recoverability will take a long time.