Commercial LPG crunch: Odisha MSMEs to slow down ops

BHUBANESWAR: The ongoing shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has begun to weigh on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), prompting many to adopt a cautious approach to production. Industries that rely on LPG for heating, soldering, welding, casting and engineering fabrication processes, particularly in the engineering sector, have slowed down operations amid limited or unavailability of cylinders. Several MSME operators in industrial clusters around Khurda and Cuttack districts said commercial LPG cylinders are not available for them for one to two days, while some are rationing the existing stocks to prioritise urgent orders. On an average, a medium-size MSME requires at least two commercial LPG cylinders a day. Satwik Swain, secretary general of Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises, said LPG is available for MSMEs but the supply is limited. "The engineering segment is mostly LPG-intensive. There is a shortage as instead of two cylinders, a manufacturing unit is just getting one and has to ration its usage. Although the situation is not improving, it has been stable as of now. But it will impact operations if the stalemate continues for a few more days," he said. Some units have begun exploring alternative sources of fuel to manage the limited supply, but such adjustments have added to production costs. SK Mallick, founder of one of the oldest boiler manufacturing companies in the state located at Khapuria Industrial Estate in Cuttack, said his company has not been able to book any LPG since Friday. His plant has shifted to dissolved acetylene (DA) in place of LPG but this has added to operational costs. "Years back when MSMEs shifted to LPG, plants producing DA reduced their operations significantly. Now that this LPG crisis is emerging, DA factories are unable to produce the requisite quantities of the fuel gas. And DA is expensive than LPG, so our manufacturing costs will go up but we cannot stop production as it will impact business and livelihood of 65 workers in the plant," he said. At a few other units where alternative fuel is beyond affordability, production has come to a standstill. One such manufacturing unit at Balikuda, which produces medical and office furniture, has been forced to suspend operations for two days, unable to procure cylinders needed for its fabrication work. "We had a large order for an educational institution which has been shelved now. There are workers sitting idle in our unit. We are being told that there will be some supply of LPG cylinders next week. Till then, the work is on hold," said Sk Saleem, owner of the manufacturing unit. Another entrepreneur, Jaya Prakash Biswal, whose company is into manufacturing of industrial machinery at Indranipatna estate in Choudwar, said at the central facilitation centre, the demand for 'plasma cutting' for has increased.