ONGOLE: The global meltdown has impacted the world-famous granite industry at Chimakurthy, 24 km from here, so much so that 60 per cent of the production may come down this month.Known as global village, Chimakurthy is popular worldwide for its black granite. It produces 30,000 to 40,000 cubic metres of granite per month at about 170 quarries. However, it has produced only 15,000 cubic metres so far this month. “In December, the production is expected to fall further fall,” Chimakurthy Galaxy Granite Quarry Owners’ Association president Parvataneni Anand told Express.Of the total production, over 80 per cent is exported to China where it is polished. From there the finished product is exported to the US, Germany and other countries. But due to the financial crisis, indents to China from these countries have fallen by 90 per cent. As a result, China has stopped importing raw granite by 60 per cent. China, which has never imposed restrictions on the Chimakurthy granite all these years, is raising objections to the quality of the valuable stone. It is insisting on ‘clear box’ with no joints and cracks. With no solution in sight to the hard-hit economies of the western nations, the managements of granite companies have sent enough signals to their employees to be prepared for ‘pink slips’. The industry has been providing direct employment to 15,000 persons while another 40,000 depend on it indirectly.With orders from China and other nations dwindling, the 170-odd quarries have cut down production of granite by 50 to 60 per cent. The companies have asked their employees to be prepared for the worst due to the global crisis. Some companies have already sounded their employees about possible retrenchment. And 10,000 have already been told to seek alternative employment.”Never have we, even in our wildest dreams, thought that the global financial meltdown will shatter our lives,’’ said R Varadarajan, a production manager at one of the companies.Even the state government is losing revenue in the form of royalty due to the slide. “Of the targeted Rs 10.67 crore royalty for November, there is no certainty that even 20 per cent of it can be collected,’’ assistant director (mines) A Jagannadha Rao told Express.However, some of the export-oriented units(EOUs) decided wait for another fortnight before taking a decision on lay-offs, said R.Lakshminarayana, former president of the association. “As we see no hope at present how long can we suffer losses and pay salaries to the employees?” Siddha Raghava Rao, a granite businessman, asked and said the future of thousands of employees hinges on the quick recovery of global economy.
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