Ceramic City kilns go cold over fuel crisis: ‘Hippo’ cylinders run out, workers leave | India News
“The factory feels so cold. You must think that’s because of the clay, but it’s actually because the furnace isn’t running.” Standing inside his plant in Khurja’s industrial area, a factory owner gestures at the rows of clay moulds and half-finished plates stacked across the factory floor. The kilns have been cold for nearly a month, he says. Khurja, a town about 90 km from Delhi in UP’s Bulandshahr, has for decades been synonymous with Indian ceramics. More than 350 units operate here, producing everything from plates and cups to decorative trays and crockery that finds its way to hotel chains, canteens and homes across the country. The industry employs more than 25,000 people, directly and in ancillary trades, giving Khurja the title of “Ceramic City”. But since the outbreak of the Iran war disrupted energy supply chains, most pottery manufacturers in Khurja have been unable to run their plants due to an impact on gas supply, and mounting fuel costs. Some workers have also started to leave. India’s pottery ceramics market was valued at …
