Punjab steel units pin hopes on surge in construction

In another development, an Amritsar based NGO, Amritsar Vikas Manch, has urged the state government to take up the matter with Canadian prime Minister to initiate a direct flight between Vancouver and Punjab.

Punjab steel units hope for a rise in demand
Considering a surge in the construction sector including roads, railways and housing sectors, steel units in Punjab are hoping for a pick-up in demand.

The Gobindgarh Furnace Association, Gobindgarh Steel Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Steel Traders Association, All India Steel Rerollers Association are among those who are anticipating a rise in demand for steel products like cold-rolled coils, sheets and TMT.

However, powercuts are still posing a great threat to these steel mills, owing which many units have either shut down or shifted their base to other states.

In the wake of unprecedented power cuts, these steel units have urged the state government to restore the power supply.

Vinod Vashisht, president, Mandi Gobindgarh Steel Re-rolling Mills Association, said, “Steel prices had fallen drastically and because a majority of the secondary steel producers here bought the raw material, iron scrap, at high rates and the cost of making ingots or rolled products was also high, industrial units had no option but close down business on the one hand there was power problem and no one would like to sell at the prevailing low prices.”

Puneet Nanda, another entrepreneur, said that “the steel furnaces and other steel rolling mills that produce TMT, angles and structures had to slash production by more than 50% or close down for the units to survive as there was no power available.” He added that the government should have reviewed the situation as power cuts had been imposed due to paddy crop facing drought like conditions back then.

Amritsar-based NGO demands direct flight from Vancouver to Amritsar
In what may please the Punjabi Diaspora in Canada, an Amritsar-based NGO, Amritsar Vikas Manch, has urged the Punjab government to urge the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who visited the holy city on Nov. 18, to begin efforts on Amritsar-Vancouver flight by Air Canada.

The NGO had even issued a letter to Harper stating that, if Air Canada initiates a direct flight from Vancouver to Amritsar, it will not only serve the Punjabis living in Canada but also add to its tourism revenue.

Reportedly, nearly 400,000 Punjabi Indians live in the Vancouver British Columbia. Similarly there are 200,000 Punjabi Indians living in the adjoining San Francisco area and 1,00,000 Punjabi Indians are living in the Los Angeles area.