LATUR: Mahesh Malang had a flourishing business in Latur. His three steel plants worth Rs 100 crore produced 300 tonnes of steel a day and had a 1,700-strong workforce. But that was until 2011. Today, all workers have left and the plants have shut because there is no water.
Malang was already struggling to compete with Chinese products till eight months ago. But he shut shop after it became difficult to afford 3 lakh litres of water daily. A tanker with 5,000-6,000 litres of water would cost around Rs 1,000.
Most of the workforce was from Bihar and UP. Now, besides Malang, only two people are left — manager Sudheer Wadgaonkar of Latur and watchman Digambar Dayan of Solapur. "MSM Steel plants were never shut, except once when an explosion forced their closure for two days," said Wadgaonkar.
Crushing emptiness: The three plants used to employ 1,700 workers. Now, besides the owner, only two are left
The company had deposited Rs 10 crore for direct power supply. Malang said. "We would pay Rs 5 crore towards electricity charges per month. Business was good, with around 70-80 trucks carrying finished products to different places in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka daily," he said.After production stopped a few months ago, the firm disconnected the power supply. "Even when power was not being utilised, we had to pay an average bill of Rs 1 crore per month," Wadgaonkar said.
The closure of the plants has affected allied activities too. Laxman Jadhav, who runs a canteen attached to the steel plants, would cater to the 1,700 factory workers, other staff members and hundreds of transporters. He used to earn between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per day. "Now, I earn Rs 200-300 a day. The factory owner doesn't charge rent. Earlier, I used to pay a rent of Rs 12,000 per month. I am still here in the hope that it will soon rain heavily and the plants will restart," Jadhav said.
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