Ice plants which are an essential part of the fishing industry in the state are badly hit hard due to frequent and unscheduled load-shedding. The ice blocks get melted as soon as the power goes off. Moreover, the consumption of electricity also rises. The ice plants which depend solely on electricity are the worst affected. There are 160 ice plants in the coastal region. Out of them 79 are in Udupi, 46 in Dakshina Kannada and 35 in Uttara Kannada. Due to the unscheduled and frequent load-shedding 50% of the ice blocks are getting melted. If there is no power for an hour, it requires another two hours for the blocks to get solidified again.
Ice making requires 80% electricity. In 2010, the price of electricity per unit was Re 1. Now it has gone up to Rs 7.40. Now the government is giving a rebate of Rs 1.75 on every unit. Though the power tariffs have been hiked for the past six years, the discount remains at Rs 1.75 only. Rajendra Suvarna, president of coastal Karnataka ice plant owners’ association said that an appeal has been made to the concerned minister to increase the rebate to at least Rs 2.75 per unit of electricity.
The trucks which carry fish from coastal districts to Goa and Kerala are filled with ice when they arrive. Only the remaining demand is provided by the ice plants of coastal region. As the ice plants are not functioning properly, the price of costly fish has also come down. Vijay Suvarna, president of ice plant owners’ association says, “If ice is not provided to fishermen at the right time, the fish which they have caught will get spoilt and they need to be sold only to factories which produce fish manure at a lower price. Continuous supply of electricity is required for ice plants.”