Granite industry, which is the biggest employer after the Singareni Collieries Company Limited in the integrated Karimnagar district, is reeling in crisis following the outbreak of COVID-19 in China and other parts of the world.
As a result of the outbreak of the disease in China exports to that country have stopped and no buyers are coming from China to purchase the granite from the district. As a result several granite quarries have stopped production and laid of several thousands of labourers, most of who have migrated from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar and other parts of the country.
The Karimnagar district is known for its varieties of granite like Maple Red and Tan Brown. Incidentally, China is a major buyer of the granite from the district for over two decades. Every month around ₹ 100 crore worth granite (over 30,000 cubic meters of raw granite) is exported to China. Following the outbreak of COVID 19, neither is any buyer coming from China to the district nor is any Indian businessman going to China to do trading.
There are around 70 granite quarries and over 200 polishing factories in the district. Due to lack of business, the factories are closed and the owners are unable to repay the bank loans as they are yet to receive payments from China, which is around ₹ 120 crore. Industry sources said that several factories in China are closed and hence they were unable to get their payments.
The lack of business has resulted in several thousands of labour force being unemployed and many have already left to their native places and some others are seeking employment in the construction sector in the district.
Managing director of Sri Venkatesh Granites (SVG) Venugopal Karwa said that they had already stopped night-shift and reduced the production during the morning shift as there was no export market. “We are running the quarries and factories with reduced staff as there was very less market in the country,” he said and added that the granite industry solely survives on the export market to China.
He appealed to the government to step in and support the granite industry by reducing the bank interest rates and reduction of royalty charges to bail it out of the crisis and also help the labour force secure employment.
