Textile processing units shut shop indefinitely

SURAT: Textile processing units in the country's biggest man-made fibre hub shut down on Friday to protest against the sharp rise in the price of natural gas.
The South Gujarat Textile Processors Association (SGTPA), which has announced an indefinite closure, organised protest rallies at the industrial areas in Pandesara and Sachin against the Gujarat Gas Company Limited (GGCL) demanding a rollback in the gas prices which have shot up by 45 per cent in four months.
An estimated 4 crore metres of cloth worth Rs100 crore is dyed and processed by Surat's textile processing units each day. Vinod Agarwal, president of SGTPA, claimed the strike had been successful on the first day. Office-bearers of SGTPA have decided to approach the Central government with a demand to include the textile industry in the priority sector after agriculture and fertiliser industries. This, they say, will help them get a fixed quota of natural gas from the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), which distributes natural gas to supplier companies like GGCL.