Marathwada Drought - What about the closed MSMEs, industrialists ask government

Latur, Apr 2 (KNN) The drought-hit Marathwada region of Maharashtra has forced shutdown of as many as 700 MSMEs in the Latur alone.

Bone dry region has incurred irreparable loss to lives of farmers, who are committing suicides almost every day.

The industries in Latur, which are mostly agro-based, fail to run in such situation leading to shutdown, layoffs and heavy financial loss.

Maharashtra government decided to transport water to the drought-affected region through special trains but that would be just enough to meet the necessary requirements of the people there.

Talking to KNN, the owner of the Vaibhav industries in Latur, Suraj Barge said that around 700 industries have shut down their production in Latur which is not an official figure.

“We came to know that Government is sending trains with water but let’s see what happens,” added the entrepreneur.

Other industrialist Shiv Kumar who is the proprietor of Ambika Industry said there is a slowdown in the industrial production.

“The few industries which are open somehow are totally dependent on water tankers. And we have to call one tanker every 3 to 4 days,” Kumar added.

“We can’t manage in this situation,” he said.

The owner of the Arun Binding Wire services, Rangnath Nigdikar was extremely disappointment and said, “Water is not available for drinking also, forget about the industries.”

He said that the government has provided no support to the industries that have shut down due to drought.

The authorities in Latur have imposed an order prohibiting the gathering of more than five persons under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code in areas around 20 water storage tanks until May 31 to avoid any possible violence over water. (KNN Bureau)