Karnaphuli Paper Mills: Production halted for gas crisis
Production at Karnaphuli Paper Mills has remained suspended since August 6, causing the country’s lone state-owned paper mill a loss of over Tk 5 crore.
KPM authorities alleged Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited stopped supplying gas to the mill for payment of arrears.
But KGDCL denied the allegation and blamed a technical glitch at the KPM’s metering (gas receiving) station for the shutdown.
In such a situation, at least 400 mill workers, paid on weekly basis, have found themselves in deep trouble.
They have been staging demonstration at the mill, situated at Chattogram’s Chandraghona, for around a week, demanding that the authorities take steps to resume the production immediately.
According to KGDCL, KPM is supposed to pay it around Tk 75 crore in dues.
Asked about the allegation, KGDCL Managing Director Khaij Ahmed said they did not disconnect the gas connection over the payment.
He said they wrote several letters to the KPM authorities in the past to immediately replace the metering station, which was bought in the 1980s and was about to cross the expiry period.
They did not get any response, he said.
KPM MD MMA Quader, however, said the station belonged to the KGDCL and that they had nothing to do about it.
“‘It is run by them. They should replace it. It is their duty,” he said.
He, however, said they would pay for the station if KGDCL took measures to replace it.
Asked, Khaij said they would import a new station if given assurance that they would be paid for that.
Md Anwar Hossen, general secretary of CBA (collective bargaining agency) at the mill, said more than a thousand workers rely on the factory to run their families.
“We want the mill to resume production as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will continue to suffer badly,” he said.
Established in the 1950s, KPM, on an average, is facing a loss of Tk 25 crore every month. Its total dues, including payment to different organisations and workers’ arrears, are nearly Tk 700 crore, said officials there.
They also said the mill had already incurred a loss of nearly Tk 5.24 crore due to the shutdown in the last 18 days.
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