Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Industrialists in Waluj and surrounding industrial estates are facing severe hardships due to the ongoing power and water shortages. While the agency appointed by MSEDCL for additional power supply is reportedly avoiding responsibility, the MIDC’s filling station is currently supplying water via tankers to 16 drought-affected villages, leading to reduced water availability for industries.
In response to the growing crisis, the MASSIA (Marathwada Association of Small Scale Industries and Agriculture) submitted a formal request to District Collector Deelip Swami on Monday, urging immediate solutions to the ongoing issues in the MIDC areas.
District Collector said, “ MASSIA office-bearers had raised concerns regarding power and water supply issues in the industrial areas. Hence, I questioned the Chief Engineer and Executive Engineer of MSEDCL about the delays in feeder installation. The officials revealed that the agency responsible for the work had not been carrying out the assigned tasks. I ordered to complete the feeder work by April 30 and ensure a smooth and uninterrupted power supply to the industrial zones.”
Referring to the water supply disruption to industries, the district collector instructed that the tanker arrangements for these villages should be made from alternative sources, not from the industrial water supply point. To facilitate this shift, Zilla Parishad CEO Ankit was directed to allow additional payments to tanker agencies for the increased transportation cost.
The meeting was attended by Superintending Engineer Sabbinwar, MSEDCL’s Superintending Engineer Sandeep Darwade, Deputy Executive Engineer Sachin Bansode, MIDC’s Deputy Engineer Ganesh Mulik, Assistant Engineer Ajay Channe, Industries Inspector P.P. Watane, MASSIA’s Arjun Gaikwad, Rahul Moghle, Manish Agrawal, and other office bearers.
Rs 16 crore for water pipeline repairs in industrial zones
Following complaints from MASSIA office bearers regarding water and electricity issues in the Chikalthana, Waluj, and Shendra MIDC areas. Industrialists expressed that an insufficient water supply was adversely affecting production activities. Taking immediate cognisance, District Collector convened a meeting with the concerned officials. He directly contacted MIDC’s Chief Executive Officer, P Velrasu, during the meeting. As an urgent measure, the Collector suggested the approval of a Rs 16 crore proposal sent earlier for repairing the MIDC water pipeline. CEO Velrasu assured that sanctions would be granted soon.
Production affected
According to MASSIA, the water crisis in Waluj MIDC is escalating, with industrial production now being directly impacted. Multiple villages have been connected to the same water pipeline that supplies the Waluj industrial area. During summer, water tankers also draw from this same line, leaving industries with an inadequate water supply and disrupting production schedules.
Feeder work deadline set for April 30
MSEDCL had approved a dedicated and separate feeder line for industrial use. However, despite a year having passed, the work has not yet started. This led to strong criticism from the District Collector, who pulled up MSEDCL officials in the meeting. Officials revealed that the agency assigned to the project has been delaying the work intentionally. A final ultimatum has been issued if feeder line work does not begin by April 30, action will be taken against the concerned contractor, said the collector.