Powerful estate but powerless industries

This is a dark reality. The third largest Industrial estate in the State of Goa is crying for power. Frequent power cuts and power outrages is the order, rather disorder, of the day at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate (CIE).

Industrialists of CIE are now asking the government to either provide them sufficient and regular power supply or else they would be forced to shut down their units and move elsewhere. All agitated CIE industrialists addressed the media and placed their grievances and problems faced by them.

There are 231 plots in Cuncolim Industrial Estate but only 91 industrial units are in operation due to government’s lethargic attitude. Over 22 units had already closed shop. If the government continues neglecting the industries, the owners said no industry can continue without proper power supply.

The third largest industrial estate in Goa is spread over six lakh square metres. The John Distilleries and Nicomet are listed among the top big units in the State.

Nicomet is consuming 15,000kv power while John Distilleries is consuming 500 KVA power. There are other 90-odd small and big industries which require sufficient power supply to run their units.

Industrialists are blaming the Electricity Department for not being professional as regards the power supply. Recently, the government has inaugurated a Power sub-station at the Industrial Estate. Former Power Minister Milind Naik had declared at the inauguration that the Industrial estate would get 24-hour power supply. Unfortunately this sub-station is standing like a monument and has not been helping the industrial units in any way.

CIE’s industrial units need a 33kv power supply sub-station. The Veroda Power station is not in a position to meet the demands of the industrial units.

One of the Industrialists, Mr Samir Keni told Herald, “We ran from pillar to post but all in vain. We approached the local representatives with our problems. We went to the Electricity Department’s every officer and even met the Power Minister but no one seems to be interested in our problems. The only option left before us is to close down our units and protest against the government’s negligence.”

“The power supply situation in the CIE is pathetic. Not a single day goes by without the power tripping. Frequent power interruptions and voltage fluctuations put a bad and adverse effect on our production. It has a negative effect on quality of our product. There are several cascading effects of power shortage and we run into heavy losses because of this outage,” said another industrialist Ketan Lakhani.

“In July 2017 there were 71 incidents of power outages. In the 31-day productive time almost 126 hours were lost because of power shortage. On an average there was only four hours power supply in whole of July which incurred crores of rupees loss to industrialists,” Keni said further. 

On one side the State government is inviting entrepreneurs in Goa promising them all the required facilities but on the other hand they are not providing essential power supply to existing industrial units, said another owner of a unit.

Industrialists are not asking a big favour from the Electricity Department but want just what is needed and due. They listed hundreds of examples to prove how inactive the Electricity Department is. “Even to change a simple fuse or for minor line repair the industrialists do not get department’s man power after 6 pm,” said another source

Industrialists are now demanding that electricity staff be posted for 24 hours. A visit to the CIE during night goes in vain because there are no street lights and one loses his/her way. 

“We are demanding an underground cabling of 11kv power line and also replacements of old transmission equipments,” said Roy D’Silva, owner of a unit at CIE.

Sources from Electricity Department said they had done an estimate of underground Cabling of 11kv lines but the file is “stacked up somewhere in the government cupboards.”