Ahmedabad: Heavy rainfall that lashed Ahmedabad on Thursday brought industrial activity across key manufacturing clusters to a near standstill, with waterlogging, power outages and disrupted worker movement forcing hundreds of factories to suspend operations. Industry representatives said the slowdown continued on Friday, with preliminary estimates placing production losses at around Rs 1,000 crore over two days.Major industrial estates including Naroda, Vatva, Narol and Odhav reported minimal activity, while severe flooding also affected the Changodar and Sanand industrial belts on the city’s outskirts. Continuous process industries were among the few that remained operational, while several other units were unable to run machinery due to electricity disruptions or could not operate because employees were unable to reach workplaces.
Industry speak
Pathik Patwari, former president of the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), said, “Most industrial estates surrounding Ahmedabad saw very little industrial activity on Thursday and Friday. The estimated production loss is around Rs 1,000 crore. Areas like Naroda, Vatva, Narol and Odhav saw very low production activity and many units remained shut.”Changodar was the worst-affected cluster, with extensive flooding inside factory premises and on internal roads. Rajendra Shah, president of the Changodar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said nearly 2,000 factories in the area were impacted due to inadequate drainage along the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway. “The highway is at a higher level and there is no proper rainwater clearance system, leading to waterlogging inside factories,” he said.Shah estimated production losses in Changodar alone at Rs 400-500 crore over two days. Flooding also submerged the local power sub-station, disrupting electricity supply to industries. “If waterlogging is not cleared and there is no power, factories will remain shut on Saturday as well,” Shah said, adding that a rescue operation had to be carried out at Gallops Industrial Park.In Sanand GIDC, around 50 of nearly 650 units remained non-operational on Friday due to power outages and flooding. Ajit Shah, president of the Sanand Industries Association, estimated losses of around Rs 50 crore over two days and said normal production could resume from Saturday if rain subsides.
