The summer heat wave across large parts of India and an acute water shortage are expected to impact production of domestic steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), a company official said on Thursday, April 28.
The official said that Andhra Pradesh, where RINL’s 6.3 million mt per year steel mill is located, has been declared a drought-affected area and is facing a severe water shortage with the maximum daytime temperature touching 45 degrees Celsius in several parts of Andhra Pradesh.
RINL’s steel plant requires 33 million gallons per day (mgd) of water to operate its mill but the state government in Andhra Pradesh has been only able to supply around 23 mgd over the past few months as water levels at all sources including the nearby Godvari river have fallen to an all-time low, the official said.
The RINL official said that, while it is too early to put a definitive figure on how the shortage of water will impact production levels as it largely depends on how long the present heat wave lasts, emergency water supplies from the authorities and the date of the onset of southwest monsoon rains.