Industry has been both a victim and a messiah in the drought that has struck Gujarat. Businesses whose fortunes are linked to sustained, normal rainfall have suffered tremendously especially if they fall in the small and medium enterprises category.
On the other hand, businesses that have not felt the impact of the scanty rainfall have tried to make a difference by giving generously from their resources.
In the former category, fall the oil millers and cotton ginning and processing mills.
The groundnut and cotton crops are the mainstay of a large part of the population of Saurashtra. However, due to the absence of rainfall, the crop yield last year was much lower than the previous year. For instance, according to a representative of the Oil Miller's Association in the region, the groundnut yield was down to 7 lakh tons from 25 lakh tons. Cotton was down to 32 lakh tons from 45 lakh tons.
Of the 1200 oilmills in Gujarat, some 750 are in Saurashtra. Most of these have now closed down with only 10 per cent or around 75 operational.
These mills too which used to work seven days a week in shifts are working 3 days a week.
Their situation has been compounded by other non-drought factors like dumping of tinned oil from China, Malaysia etc. Similarly cotton ginning and processing mills have also shut down though their exact number could not be ascertained.
On the other hand, corporates located in this belt have been doing their bit to aid the drought-affected.
For instance, Reliance Petroleum which has set up the largest grassroots refinery in the world in Jamnagar in Saurashtra, has started supplying around 12 lakh gallons of water per day to the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation. The water is drawn from the sea and desalinated in a plant that is part of the refinery complex.
The amount of water being supplied may soon be raised.
Similarly, the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation which has its largest lignite mine in Kutch has been doing some good work in that region for the past thirty years.
This includes desilting local water tanks of villages, building check dams, distributing grain etc. In fact, during the last cyclone, it also helped to clear corpses of animals which noone was willing to touch.
A leading Gujarati newspaper called Phuulchaap based in Rajkot and run by the Janmabhoomi trust been distributing water free of cost to the slum areas of that city.
However given the usually water-scarce nature of the region, one can't help but expect a lot more corporates in the region to reach out and help in any which way they can.
