Mangalore : The employees of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) staged a massive protest in front of the factory premises on Oct 1, Wednesday against the decision to halt production.

The protesters shouted slogans holding placards.

Addressing the protestors, Surya Narayan, an employee said that there are more than 2,000 people working for MCF and if the government shuts down the factory then they will come on street. They also urged Union government to provide an extension until the pipeline between Kochi to Mangalore to transport gas gets completed.

They said that, it was the previous Union government who directed the factory to replace naphtha with natural gas for production of ammonia and urea to reduce the burden of subsidy on the government. Simultaneously, MCF has installed the required machinery to produce urea using natural gas but still GAIL has failed to lay a proposed pipeline.

As per the report, the actual cost of production of urea per ton using naphtha is about Rs 48,000 to Rs 50,000 while it is sold at Rs. 5,300 a ton to farmers. The Union government pays subsidy directly to the factory, instead of paying to farmers individually.

Speaking on the sidelines of a programme at Pilikula, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he will hold the meeting of stake holders to discuss on the issue of MCF closure as early as possible.