Bhubaneswar, Sept 10 (KNN) The continuing coal shortage due to stoppage or curtailment of coal supplies and rakes has threatened the very survival of the local industries, said Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) on Friday.

The chamber in a letter to chief minister Naveen Patnaik urged him to save Odisha-based industries from the “alarming situation of closure” due to the prolonged coal supply crunch by Coal India.

Since August 2021, many industries are struggling to get uninterrupted supplies for continued operations as most of the available coal and rakes are being diverted to the power sector on priority, it said.

“We beg to state that despite several representations by various industry players as well as associations, the coal supply scenario to the non-power sector has deteriorated steeply,” said UCCI Brahma Mishra.

“This has brought the industry to a standstill and made a major dent on Odisha’s image of being a coal-surplus state,” he added.

In the letter, the industry body also accused the Mahanadi Coalfields of consistently ignoring captive power plant-based industries in the state despite maintaining a healthy production level.

The coal crisis in Odisha poses the risk of loss of jobs for lakhs of people who work in these small and medium industries.  (KNN Bureau)