Member of Parliament, Narsaraopet, Lavu Srikrishnadevaraylu raised the crisis in the limestone industry in Palnadu on the floor of Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
“The limestone industry is in a crisis owing to severe shortage of raw materials including coal and pet coke that are used in burning of raw limestone. The scarcity of raw materials has forced the closure of more than 100 limestone units in the recent times in Palnadu,” said the MP.
Pointing out that only 60 limestone units are in operation in Palnadu at present, Mr. Srikrishnadevaraylu said industry experts say if similar conditions prevail, it would force closure of the remaining units, which means thousands of workers would lose their livelihood.
“The coal price has been rising sharply over the last few years. A tonne of coal which used to cost ₹11,200 last year has gone up to ₹14,700. The price of pet coke in 2020 was around ₹8,500 per tonne. But it has shot up to ₹18,500 per tonne now. The availability of coal and pet coke also has become a major issue. Manufacturers say that they are losing ₹400 to ₹500 per tonne in manufacturing lime powder,” the MP said.
Located on the Guntur-Hyderabad highway, Piduguralla is a hub of limestone industry. Limestones from this town are used in sugar industry, chemical industry, paper mills. More than 150 lorries ferry limestones from this town. Besides, the lime powder is used in aquaculture industry and making hollow bricks. The unit owners also say that the industry has been enduring a crisis since 1995 due to the declining demand from other States.
“The Singareni Collieries used to provide coal to limestone industry. After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the collieries stopped supplying coal and pet coke, forcing the manufacturers to shell out lakhs of rupees to import coal. If the same situation continues, we will be forced to close down our units,” said Guntur District Lime Manufacturing Association secretary Manam Srinivasa Rao.
The customers have also started importing burnt lime stone powder from Rajasthan and Vietnam, making it extremely difficult for the local manufacturers to survive, he added.
