A garment manufacturing start-up, launched in Ranchi by a 60-year-old homemaker in 2015, is struggling to run its operations because of erratic power supply so much so that the company says it is consider shifting to a state that can offer better infrastructure.
“If electricity condition in Ranchi does not improves (sic), we will be forced to move our factory from Jharkhand to other States with better support & infrastructure. High use of generator is directly affecting cost of production & tripping affects efficiency,” Mulberry Lifestyle announced on its official Twitter handle on Wednesday night, prompting JMM executive president Hemant Soren to share the post on Thursday morning and describe the situation as shameful.
“It’s a shame that inspite of extravagant spending crores & crores (sic) of public money in the guise of @InvestJharkhand & business trips to China, Russia — @dasraghubar’ji has been a ZERO in ensuring normal power electricity supply in #jharkhand. Result- Companies to exit #Jharkhand,” Hemant wrote.
Launched by Arti Poddar, Mullberry Lifestyle, located between Kokar and Booty More, primarily makes bundis, selling them online and in retail outlets by tying up with major brands. It also makes dresses for big brands.
Kanishk Poddar, a director with the company, rued the deterioration in the business climate of Jharkhand, adding that the power situation was so bad that they were seriously considering relocation.
“Don’t even ask about the kind of problems we are facing. It’s not just about my company. Almost every industry, specially small and medium ones, is crying because of power woes that are adding to operational costs and squeezing both profits and production,” he said.
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He said on Wednesday there was no power between 11am and 5pm which was too long a time for them to operate a generator.
“On an average, we produce 1000 garments a month. But we have been unable to achieve the target for quite some time now,” he said explaining that running generators for long hours meant they were losing out on the cost advantage they had in Ranchi.
GM of JBVNL Ranchi circle Sanjay Kumar explained that industrial areas and the city were served by different feeders. “Tripping occurs due to maintenance work and laying of underground cables, which we should be able to complete by October,” he said, but added that industrial areas faced fewer instances of tripping.
Asked about Mulberry Lifestyle specifically, he said he did not have ready data, but promised to share it with this correspondent on Saturday. “But if you talk about the overall (power) situation in the capital, it isn’t as it is being portrayed,” Kumar claimed.
A Jharkhand Small Industries Association official explained that Mulberry Lifestyle’s problem could have arisen because it may be located outside the Kokar Industrial Area. However, he claimed that compared to other areas of the state, Ranchi was better off in terms of available power.
“For instance, in Hazaribagh, which is served by DVC command area, there was a 15-hour downtime on Wednesday. Here in Ranchi, we are better placed,” he said, adding that industries were okay with pre-announced blackouts. “We are keeping shops shut in Kokar on Saturdays as we have been told that maintenance work will be on. I am okay with it as development work is also important,” he added.