Ludhiana: In the last one year, steel manufacturers have suffered a big blow due to uncontrollable rise in the rates of steel. According to them, there has been 20 to 100% increase in the rates of different types of steel products since July 2020, despite a huge fall in the demand for steel.
Maninder Pal Guliani, president of Ludhiana Beopar Mandal, said, “Because of the huge increase in the rate of steel raw material of different types, not only manufacturers of engineering goods but also small-time steel traders have been destroyed. The situation is such that the minimum hike is of 20% while there are certain items that have witnessed increase of even 100%. This month, the rate of HR coil is between Rs 70,000 and Rs 72,000 per tonne, which last year in July was about Rs 36,000. Similarly, the rate of wire rod is currently Rs 55,000 per tonne, which was Rs 39,000 in July 2020. Rate of TMT bars has shot up from Rs 42,000 per tonne to Rs 56,000 and that of round bars has shot up to
Ludhiana: A day after launch of the coronavirus vaccination programme, city businessmen are demanding that in addition to the frontline workers, factory workers be administered the shot of vaccine.
According to businessmen, they are ready to organise special camps in industrial areas and they are also demanding that the government should ensure that the dose is given free to the workers. Businessmen are of the view that factory workers face huge risks of contracting coronavirus and when infected, a worker can prove to be a spreader because of the high number of persons he comes in contact with, therefore there is urgent need of vaccinating them first.