A large number of industrial production houses in Madurai closed their units on Wednesday acting on a bandh call given by Tamil Nadu Electricity Consumer’s Council, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Madurai District Small and Tiny Industries Association (MADITSSIA).
However, most of the shops and commercial establishments in the city did not participate in the bandh.
More than 80 percent of the shops were open, due to which normal life remained unaffected.
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Brisk sale during the Pongal season is attributed to the non-participation of shops and other commercial establishments in the bandh.
According to V. S. Manimaran, president of MADITSSIA, twenty five thousand small and medium scale industries were shut down on Wednesday seeking equitable power supply to all parts of Tamil Nadu and seeking to withdraw Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s (TANGEDCO) petition to Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) to increase the duration of power cut in places other than Chennai in Tamil Nadu. He put the loss for one day at Rs 50 crore.
N. Jegatheesan, president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said nearly three lakh employees of various industries in Madurai took part in the bandh.
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Representatives from at least thirty trade bodies met Collector Anshul Mishra and gave a memorandum urging the State not to support the TANGEDCO’s move.
TNERC approving the petition would amount to legalising the power cuts that last for more than 12 hours in places other than Chennai, they apprehended.