Five steel industries in Rupandehi closed

By Our Correspondent

Bhairahawa, Oct. 30: Five large steel industries operating in Rupandehi have been closed indefinitely. According to the industrialists, the industry had to be shut down due to the discriminatory policy introduced by the government in the import of raw materials required for steel industries, MS blade and sponge iron through customs and excise duties.

Due to this policy, the cost of production has increased, forcing them to close the industries, they said.

About two thousand workers directly and indirectly dependent on them have become unemployed after the closure of the industries.

The industrialists have voiced their dissatisfaction for a long time, saying that the government has introduced a discriminatory policy on sponge import and blade export.

Five steel industries in Rupandehi have been closed due to increased production costs and inability to compete in the market.

Panchakanya Steel, Everest Rolling Industries, SR Steel, Ferro Steel and Goenka Steel of Rupandehi, which had been making steel by importing raw blades from India and third countries, have been completely closed.

SR Steel has been closed since last July, while Everest Rolling Industries since mid-September. Panchakanya Steel Industry has also stopped its production since a month ago.

SR Steel Industries, operated by SR Group, has been closed since July. This industry, which is producing 200 tonnes of TMT steel daily, was established in the year 2068 BS.

Er. Suraj Upreti, Managing Director of SR Steel, said that the industry had to be closed not out of choice but out of compulsion.

He informed that the industry has been closed since July when it became impossible to operate after different rates were imposed on the import of raw materials of the same nature as well as excise duty on raw iron at the customs point.

"Following the government's policy, industries that make blades by melting sponges and iron scraps have benefited, but we, who run the industry by importing blades, are at a loss, so there is no option but to close the industry," Upreti said.

In the budget, the government introduced a policy of zero per cent customs duty on sponge iron import and 5 per cent customs duty on blades, while an excise duty of Rs. 3 50 per kg was fixed at the customs point on the import of MS blades.

Industrialists demanded that the sponge iron be exempted from excise duty. 

Arun Goenka, Managing Director of Everest Rolling in Rupandehi, said that due to the discriminatory policy of the government, the industry has been shut down.

He said that the industry that makes blades by bringing sponges claimed that they provide them at a cheaper price than the those imported from India. 

Everest Rolling Industry was producing 150 tonnes of TMT steel daily.

Some time ago, after widespread protests by the industrialists, the government imposed one per cent customs duty on sponge iron, while the excise duty on MS blades was reduced by Rs. 1 to Rs. 2.50.