The Rane group has said that it will not make any fresh investments in Hyderabad due to the Telangana crisis.

The auto component manufacturer, which has been in Hyderabad since 1981, has four plants in the city.

“In last 12 months, we have lost about 20 working days. Every day of bandh means loss of sales of Rs 1 crore. Although unions have, on paper, agreed to compensate bandh days, it is not happening due to other statutory limitation on working time per week/ quarter,” said Mr L. Ganesh, Chairman, Rane group.

“We are not investing any more in Hyderabad in the near future, till the crisis is resolved.” Given the labour laws, it is also not easy to pull out, he added.

The four plants in Hyderabad, which make engine valves, friction material products and die-cast products, employ 1,600 people.

“As it is, there is shortage of employees with engineering and manufacturing experience. The workers come from coastal and other parts of the State. If the divide worsens, obviously this will stop,” said Mr Ganesh.

The “uncertainty, indecision and continued hooliganism” is causing frustration to clients. “We serve key domestic OEMs from Hyderabad plants. We also export to German and US OEMs. They are getting fed up with frequent work stoppages and delivery failures.”

The movement for a separate Telengana State has been causing tension in Andhra Pradesh for several months. The Confederation of Indian Industry is concerned about the turmoil and has urged for speedy resolution of the issue so that industries don’t away from the State.

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