TIRUPPUR: The power tariff hike has come as the proverbial last straw on the camel’s back as far as power loom units in Tiruppur are concerned. Many power loom unit owners said they dismantled machinery and sold them as scrap in the past six months because they were bogged down by high yarn prices and low weaving charges (given by master weavers), The revised power tariff will force many more to follow suit, they said.
According to industry sources, Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts have over 1.5 lakh power loom units, from which 40 to 50 power loom machines have been sold as scrap every week for the past six months.
Power loom owner K Balasubramaniam (42) said, “I have been in the business for over 20 years. Low weaving charges and the hike in yarn prices affected me. Though we went on strike from December 2021 to January 2022 and textile companies increased weaving charges to Rs 4.95 per metre, they reduced it to Rs 4.50 per metre in two months. Besides, We didn’t get warp yarn as textile firms couldn’t buy yarn due to high prices. So I decided to sell my machines for scrap. I now work as a driver.”
B Rajakumar (41), another power loom weaving unit owner, said, “I have 12 machines, and due to poor weaving charges, I can’t afford to operate the unit. With the increase in power tariff, I will have to pay a power bill of Rs 55,000, instead of Rs 22,000, every two months.”
Another power loom weaving owner V Shankar (35) said, “In my 25 years of experience, this is the first such crisis. I run my machines in a premises rented for Rs 6,000 per month. With a low weaving charge and hike in power tariff, many power loom units will not survive, as each unit has at least four machines, so, the power consumption will be more than 1,000 units. If the tariff hike is not recalled, I will have to discard my machines.”
Coimbatore-Tiruppur districts’ power loom unit owners president C Palanisamy said, “Hundreds of machines were discarded over the past six months. When the State proposed the power tariff hike, we passed resolutions and met top Tangedco and government officials but didn’t get any respite.”
A TANGEDCO official said, “Power loom operators can submit individual petitions to TN Electricity Regulatory Commission which has accepted Tangedco’s tariff hike proposal. The commission is the sole authority on these matters.”
An official of the State’s Department of Textiles said, “Demand and supply decide the price of cotton. It is up to the Union government to decide on procurement of cotton through Cotton Corporation of India and directly supply it to mills.”