90K to lose livelihood as slowdown in China hits granite industry in Telangana's Karimnagar

KARIMNAGAR:  Here is the hard reality. Around 90,000 workers are left high and dry as the granite companies are shutting shop from Friday, October 1, 2021. The shutdown will be for three months but it is too long a period for both workers and the companies to surmount the difficulty posed by the sudden decline in demand in China, the principal importer.

“We have no other alternative but to stop production. China is not purchasing granite on account of severe power shortage. The construction activity has almost come to a standstill there. This has resulted in a sluggish demand for granite,” says Granite Industry Owners Association president P Sridhar. About 50 per cent of the workers employed by the granite industry are from Telangana and the remaining from Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. The granite industry is the second largest employer in the State behind the Singareni Collieries Company.

“The workers have been forewarned about shutdown of the industry due to no offtake of granite blocks. They are psychologically prepared but loss of livelihood will hit them below the belt,” former president of association I Vijaya Bhaskar says. 

Around 40% increase in labour charges and hike in diesel prices too are having an adverse impact on the industry. The crisis also hits the government hard as every year these companies pay a seigniorage of Rs 220 crore and a GST of Rs 100 crore.

Major importer 
Around 80% of granite from Karimnagar is exported to China with 5% going to Vietnam and even lesser quantities being imported by Italy, the UAE and other countries. The industry also caters to the local market.