Frustrated with his efforts at reviving the mother unit of Dunlop at Sahagunj in West Bengal's Hooghly district, a decision may have to be taken before the end of the year to shift the plant, company Chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia said.
Talking to this correspondent, he said that although the Ambattur unit, employing some 500-odd people, was now running at break-even level, his efforts at reviving the Sahagunj unit had failed time and again. “We may have to take a decision on this matter now,” he said.
Admitting that Sahagunj was not a success story, he said that this was due to a variety of reasons which were not foreseen at the time of takeover. “Persistent lawlessness and theft at the unit and at the township, which has been virtually taken over by outsiders during the eight-year closure period under the previous owners, has paved the way for a host of law and order problems.”
Mr. Ruia said that armed guards were being posted at the factory but added that that was hardly the preferred route for running a business. He said that while Rs.70 crore had been spent on raw material purchase at Sahagunj over the last six months, Rs.3 crore was spent on account of salary outgo.
“Shifting the plant is an option that we are exploring right now,” he said adding that the sprawling premises might be utilised for setting up a 50 MW power plant for which regulatory approvals were now being sought.
