Polished slab stone units fall on hard times

Kurnool: The polished and colour stones of Bethamcherla which dominated the market earlier are now seen stacked in congested rows while the organisers desperately wait for the buyers. With the entry of granites, marbles and tiles into the market, the polished and colour stones are no longer in demand. Bethamcherla, from where the polished slabs are exported to other parts of the country, has now totally come to a standstill.

In the past, as many as 90 per cent of slab polishing units were established in Bethamcherla, Banaganapalle, Kolimigundla and Owk mandals in the district. Among these, 500 at Bethamcherla, 300 in Banaganapalle, 200 in Kolimigundla and 300 polishing units at Owk were seen functioning round-the-clock and busy catering to the demands of the customers. Previously, hundreds of families that have migrated from every nook and corner of the State have a handful of income.

With the entry of granites, marbles and tiles into the market, people are not showing much interest in buying the polished slabs and colour stones. In addition to this, the recently introduced GST by the Central Government has an adverse impact on the polishing units.

Between 30 to 40 per cent slab units were closed as there were no sales. Around 70 factories at Bethamcherla, 20 at Banaganapalle, and 50 each at Kolimigundla and Owk have been closed. As a result, the dependants are forced to eke out their livelihood as farm labourers.

One of the unit organiser, Vali of Banaganapalle speaking to The Hans India here on Thursday said that “We are facing hard times to run the polishing slab units with the increased rates.”

Earlier, the cost of transporting stones for one square feet from the quarry was Rs.5 and now it was enhanced to Rs.8. Moreover, the power bills were also increased. It is not possible to run the units by bearing those charges, he lamented.

Another organiser, Nagi Reddy said that earlier, we were getting several business contracts from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Hundreds of lorries were seen transporting the polished slab stones and labourers were working round-the-clock. But now, all the glory was lost with the entry of granites, marbles and tiles, he stated.

He urged the government to encourage their business by purchasing the polished slab stones and colour stones for the construction of Capital city Amaravati. He further said that the government was supporting the corporate industries by giving huge subsidy but ignoring small scale industries.

The Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishna Murthy had assured that the polished slab stones would be used for the construction of Capital city of Amaravati. Despite of four years of TDP’s rule, no such steps were initiated to save the factories from shutting down.

By V Narendra Kumar