Bhubaneswar: It has been a month since Cyclone Fani lashed Puri and devastated normal life. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Puri, in particular, were devastated and are just limping back to life.
According to the state government, Fani affected 374 SMEs in Puri and caused losses to the tune of Rs 78 crore. The loss to unregistered units has not come into this picture. And since many SMEs shut down for a month, entrepreneurs fear huge losses.
JP Industry, a brick-manufacturing unit at Sakhigopal, had a 20,000-square ft shed before Fani struck. It collapsed in the wind. Amrit Anand Chanduka, its operator, says: “It has been a month since and we are not even in the first stage of restoration. Our brick-making machine was damaged. We lack the financial support and resources to get back on track.”
According to Amrit, the cyclone “caused losses of over 25 lakh” to the unit. “Losses are mounting as we have not opened the unit now for over a month. We used to manufacture over 20,000 bricks a day,” he said.
Reeta Industry, another brick-manufacturing unit at Malatipatpur, claimed that about 1,000 cement-packets got solidified following Fani. Buddhanath Nayak, the proprietor, says: “Each bag cost Rs 355 and our losses amounted to Rs 3.55 lakh. Structural damages for Rs 8 lakh have also happened.”
He feels insurers have nothing but promises to offer and that is spending from his own pocket on repairs.
Two rice mills at Biraharekrushnapur — Jagannath and Subhadra — are among the Fani-ravaged industries. According to mill owner Soumya Parida the machinery was damaged after the winds blew away the units’ roofs. “Over 40,000 sacks of paddy stocked there were damaged and over 600 packets of broken rice and over 300 bags of bran were also destroyed,” Parida said and added that it could take more than Rs80 lakh to bring things back to order.
Udra Utilities Pvt Ltd, a brooms and detergent manufacturing unit at Mangalaghat in Puri, which had supplies across several villages in the locality was shut for a month past Fani and has just about resumed operations.
Bijay Choudhury, the owner of the unit, says the unit suffered damages to the tune of Rs1.5 lakh. “The rain damaged over 50 bags of brooms. Each bag had 100 pieces and we lost 5,000 brooms in all. Also, raw materials for brooms and soap also got damaged,” Bijay adds.
The Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME), a body for SMEs, has claimed that more than 600 industries in Puri were affected by Fani. Satwik Swain, the Secretary General of OASME, said: “There are 600 units in Puri, including registered and non-registered ones. The cumulative loss of property could come to about Rs 250 crore.”
“We have discussed the matter with the district collector and have urged him to enable sanction of loans with low interest. Industries that faced losses of over 80 per cent should get loan waivers. They should be given rehabilitation loans at lower rates of interests, say, 2-4 per cent,” Swain said.
