June 30: The flowering of bamboo groves in Mizoram has raised fears of a sharp dip in output at the Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd, which is just back on its feet after a blaze.
After lying defunct for nearly a month following a fire at its digester machine room, the paper mill at Panchgram became operational last week.
But chief executive officer Mohan Jha’s pressing concern now is the shrinking supply of raw materials, which could land the Rs 387-crore enterprise in trouble again.
The paper mill with a capacity of 1 lakh tonne annual output, gets its supply mainly from North Cachar Hills and Mizoram.
With the once-in-50-years phenomenon of bamboo flowering destroying groves, the Panchgram paper mill cannot hope for a steady supply for the next few months.
“The little stock left in Mizoram cannot be transported to Panchgram through National Highway 53 because of the pitiable condition of the roads leading to the highway,” Jha said.
Adding to his woes is the failure of bamboo suppliers in the Barak Valley to ensure regular supply of bamboo stock from Cachar and Tripura.
Jha is now hoping that a good monsoon will feed the rivers in Mizoram and facilitate transportation through the waterways.
Union heavy industries and public enterprises minister Sontosh Mohan Dev, too, is worried over the condition of HPC’s Panchgram plant.
On June 20, the legislator from Cachar held a meeting at his Delhi office to end the stalemate at the Panchgram unit of the mill.
Top officials of the HPC and the executive councillors of the North Cachar Autonomous District Council attended the brainstorming exercise in Delhi’s Yodyag Bhavan.
SOURCE: TELEGRAPH INDIA
After lying defunct for nearly a month following a fire at its digester machine room, the paper mill at Panchgram became operational last week.
But chief executive officer Mohan Jha’s pressing concern now is the shrinking supply of raw materials, which could land the Rs 387-crore enterprise in trouble again.
The paper mill with a capacity of 1 lakh tonne annual output, gets its supply mainly from North Cachar Hills and Mizoram.
With the once-in-50-years phenomenon of bamboo flowering destroying groves, the Panchgram paper mill cannot hope for a steady supply for the next few months.
“The little stock left in Mizoram cannot be transported to Panchgram through National Highway 53 because of the pitiable condition of the roads leading to the highway,” Jha said.
Adding to his woes is the failure of bamboo suppliers in the Barak Valley to ensure regular supply of bamboo stock from Cachar and Tripura.
Jha is now hoping that a good monsoon will feed the rivers in Mizoram and facilitate transportation through the waterways.
Union heavy industries and public enterprises minister Sontosh Mohan Dev, too, is worried over the condition of HPC’s Panchgram plant.
On June 20, the legislator from Cachar held a meeting at his Delhi office to end the stalemate at the Panchgram unit of the mill.
Top officials of the HPC and the executive councillors of the North Cachar Autonomous District Council attended the brainstorming exercise in Delhi’s Yodyag Bhavan.
