Nandyal: Granite polishing industries are facing a severe downturn as exports drastically dropped over the past few months. Thousands of tons of granite slabs are piled up at ports, bringing the industry to a standstill and raising questions about its survival. Without work, laborers are left unemployed.

In the erstwhile Kurnool district, there are around 900 granite polishing industries, out of which nearly 400 are in Bethamcherla alone. Granite extracted from mines is brought to these industries, polished, cut into various sizes, and prepared for export. The finished slabs are transported in containers to ports like Kakinada, Chennai, and Krishnapatnam, and from there they will be shipped to 18 countries, including Britain, Canada, and USA.

However, due to low demand in international market, exports have come to a halt, leaving tons of polished granite stuck at ports. Previously, 90 to 100 containers were exported daily, but now, even 10 containers are not being shipped. Each container, carrying 28 tons of polished granite, is valued between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh. Once, daily shipments amounted to 2,600 tons, generating Rs 3 crore daily or Rs 95 crore monthly revenue. Now, agents remain idle, and the industry is losing Rs 35 to Rs 40 crore per month. Industry owners are urging the government to provide subsidies and reduce royalties to save the sector.

“The business has been declining for the past three years, and it’s even worse this year. We cannot provide employment to workers anymore. Many industries have already shut down. Cheaper availability of granite in Gujarat has worsened the situation,” said an industry owner, expressing his anguish.

Minister BC Janardhan Reddy promised to restore the glory of the granite Industry. Attributing the current struggles of the granite industry to the decisions made by the previous YSRCP government, he emphasised that the industry has been burdened by increased royalties and other fees introduced during that tenure. To address these issues, Minister Janardhan Reddy stated that the matter would be brought to the attention of Minister for Mines Kollu Ravindra for swift resolution.