Industrial parks in Chennai resume operations after Cyclone Michaung, says Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: Over 90 per cent of firms located inside industrial estates run by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) in rain-battered Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu districts have resumed operations, and the rest are likely to follow suit very soon, the Tamil Nadu government said on Thursday.

Industries Minister T R B Raaja said of the 960 allottees who functioned before Cyclone Michaung’s landfall in eight industrial estates managed by SIPCOT in and around Chennai, as many 878 have begun functioning since Wednesday.

While rainwater has been drained out of these industrial parks, the government acknowledged that roads inside the campuses have been damaged due to the impact of the cyclone which ravaged Chennai and its three neighbouring districts. “Estimation is under preparation for attending road patch work,” a senior government official told DH.

In Irungattukottai, home to leading automobile manufacturer Hyundai and electronics major Dell, all 206 firms have resumed production with employees attending to work since Wednesday. In Sriperumbudur SIPCOT, which houses massive facilities by Apple Inc suppliers Foxconn, and Salcomp, among other companies, 60 companies of the total 90 have begun functioning, data released by Raaja showed.

The situation in Oragadam, another automobile hub in the suburbs which boasts of manufacturing facilities of Daimler India, Renault-Nissan, and Danfoss Industries, was better with 110 of 126 firms resuming operations.

All 92 and 22 units in Pillaipakkam, and Therovykandigai, were functioning normally, while it is 114/116 in Vallam Vadagal and 220/250 in Gummudipoondi, a major industrial area in Tiruvallur district. In Siruseri on the IT Corridor, where several localities are still under water, about 54 of the 56 firms have begun operations.

In Siruseri and Gummudipoondi, water stagnation still persists in a few places which will be cleared soon, the officials said.

“All the SIPCOT industrial estates in and around Chennai are functioning normally. We have cleared these places of waterlogging and companies have already resumed production,” K Senthil Raj, Managing Director, SIPCOT, told DH.

While SIPCOTs are up and running, the same is not the case with industrial estates run by Small Industries Development Corporation (SIDCO) in Ambattur (north phase), Thirumudivakkam, Tirumazhisai, and Kakalur are in a bad shape with efforts being taken to drain the flood water out from the premises.

Raaja said the proper drainage system laid by the state government in Ambattur Industrial Estate last year has proved effective, “Hope to get the production back on track next week,” Raaja said.