MSME owners, workers observe one-day fast in Coimbatore over power tariff hike

Coimbatore, Nov 25 (PTI) Nearly 500 MSME industrialists and workers on Friday held a day-long hunger strike here demanding the fixed charges and peak hour charges for LT Industries in Tamil Nadu be revoked with immediate effect.

The industry owners, under the banner of Federation of Coimbatore Industrial Association (FOCIA), representing 18 smaller associations, downed their shutters to squat and fast, as they wanted to draw the attention of the government against the increase in electricity charges to the industries, which have suffered massively owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The industrialists said that due to the steep hike in fixed charges and introduction of peak hour charges, the MSMEs were paying as much as Rs 15 per unit and demanded the rollback of both policy decisions.

Nearly 25,000 manufacturing units stopped operations as part of the fast, resulting in a production loss of Rs 30 crore, FOCIA sources said. PTI NVM HDA HDA