RFCL Halts Urea Production, Adds to Farmers' Woes

Frequent gas pipeline leaks cause recurring technical disruptions, impacting fertiliser availability for TG farmers

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Peddapalli

UREA production at the Ramagundam Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) has been halted for the past two days due to a technical issue, exacerbating the shortage prevailing now. The RFCL will not be resuming operations till August 22.

Frequent gas pipeline leaks have been causing recurring technical disruptions, forcing the plant to shut down. Restarting production requires a three-day cooling period, followed by another three days to bring the plant back into operation.

In the current Kharif season, RFCL was supposed to supply 60,000 metric tonnes (MT) of urea to Telangana. However, a similar technical snag in July had already hampered output, with only 20,000 MT produced since then.

The latest problem took place on August 14. The plant's full capacity is 2,200 MT per day (MTPD) of ammonia and 3,850 MTPD of neem-coated urea.

The repeated breakdowns have severely impacted urea availability for Telangana's farmers during the critical Kharif season.

Reported delays in decision-making from RFCL's corporate office in Delhi have further intensified the problem.