Rain relief: Ambattur, Guindy industrial estates to seek Rs 10 cr

Hit by yet another spell of rains on December 2, the Ambattur and Guindy Industrial Estates, which were already reeling under heavy flooding caused by three different spells of heavy downpours during the last one month, are planning to seek an assistance of around Rs 10 crore from the state government for immediate relief efforts.

President of the Guindy Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association P K Gopalakrishnan told Business Standard that about 150 units, which include chemicals, plastics and engineering units, were water-logged. In most of the units, raw materials had been damaged or washed out. The electronics complex, near the Adayar Canal, was also water-logged.

Power supply to most of the units has been snapped and it is likely to take at least 4 days for the units in the Guindy Estate to resume operations. About 3,500 people are employed in these units.

Gopalakrishnan said that the labour colony, which has about 400 houses and 100 units, was also flooded. The electrical lines in houses had been damaged and raw materials in units washed out.

The association, which is working along with Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (Sidco), is expected to seek an assistance of Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 5 crore from the state government as an immediate relief.

Of the total assistance, Rs 2 crore would be sought for unit-holders, Rs 1 crore for re-building the roads, sewage and drainage systems and about Rs 50 lakh for the labour colony.

"We are working with Sidco officials. We have sent a questionnaire to all the units in the estate to provide the details on the estimated damage. The total figure is expected by Friday," he added.

President of the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association K P Shashidhar Rao said the association was planning to meet the chief minister and make a request for an assistance of Rs 5 crore for a special canal project in the estate.

He said that the special canal project was planned to take the flow of water outside the industrial estate. At present, the water is flowing through a canal inside the industrial estate. This has resulted in heavy flooding during the heavy downpours.

Rao said that there was still about three-feet water in most of the shop floors of the units. Production has been severely affected and about 300 units that included garment factories, auto ancillaries, packaging units and fabrication units, were water-logged.

The total loss per day was estimated at around Rs 5 crore, in addition to the losses of around Rs 100 crore incurred by the units during the previous spell of rains.

The units in the estate are expected to resume operations during the week-end if there is no rainfall in the catchment area like Thiruvalluvar district, which recorded heavy rainfall on December 2.