MORBI, India: Blazing-hot kilns in India&#39;s $6.5 billion ceramics manufacturing hub employing hundreds of thousands of people have gone cold, shut down in an energy crunch caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. At a cavernous facility in Morbi, in India&#39;s western Gujarat state, a 200-meter-long propane-powered kiln that normally fires clay nonstop is silent. It is one of hundreds of plants supplying homeware tiles across the world that have been forced to suspend operations.<figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/5d904ce8-a54e-43b7-9a43-1c4eb79346d5-AFP__20260329__A4TV6EZ__v1__MidRes__IndiaWarIranUsIsraelEnergy.jpg" alt="AFP__20260329__A4TV6EZ__v1__MidRes__IndiaWarIranUsIsraelEnergy.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 1000px;"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Morbi, India: A man walks out the Eden Ceramic City mall housing outlets of ceramic tile manufacturers and distributors, as it remains deserted amid propane gas supply constraints and global energy crisis, on March 26, 2026. (Photo: AFP)</figcaption></figure> Thick layers of dust smother giant grinding and pressing machines, while only a tiny crew of workers transfer the last batch made three weeks ago off snaking assembly lines and into trucks. &quot;We are suffering a lot,&quot; said Kishor Dulera, a tile unit proprietor who closed this factory and two others in early March, sending hundreds of workers home. India depends on imports for 60% of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/fuel-panic-deepens-indias-economic-strain" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">liquefied petroleum gas</a>&nbsp;(LPG) demand. The overwhelming majority comes through the Strait of Hormuz waterway, which has been effectively blocked by Iran after US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic late last month sparked a broader regional conflict, disrupting global energy supplies. New Delhi has prioritized supply for households, shielding Indians who use it to cook food. That has squeezed the amount available for industrial use. Factories in sectors including stainless steel and plastic have cut back on production as a result. &#39;Disaster&#39;&nbsp;&quot;If the main raw material is disturbed, the whole industry is disturbed,&quot; Dulera told AFP. The ceramics hub at Morbi makes up 90% of India&#39;s total production and is one of the world&#39;s largest ceramic manufacturing centers, exporting tiles to countries such as the United States and Thailand. The industry at Morbi provides direct and indirect employment to nearly a million people, according to government statistics. More than 400 plants have closed after the gas supply chain was &quot;broken&quot;, said Manoj Arvadiya, head of the local manufacturing industry association. Keeping the kilns hot means plants operate around-the-clock -- and emergency shutdowns can damage machinery. &quot;It is a continuous process,&quot; said Arvadiya. &quot;You can&#39;t run it for two days and then switch it off for one day. It doesn&#39;t work like that.&quot; Hitesh Detroja said his now-shut Lexus Granito plant had produced 30,000 tiles per day, calling the closure a &quot;disaster&quot;. He said he has no income to pay his fixed costs and interest on loans of $74,000 each month. &quot;This crisis is horrible,&quot; Detroja said.&nbsp;&#39;Worried&#39;&nbsp;The ripple effects of the energy crisis have been felt throughout the Morbi ecosystem. &quot;Everyone is worried,&quot; said 29-year-old labourer Bunty Goswami, a migrant worker at a shut plant. &quot;We are confused about what to do -- whether we should go home, or not.&quot; India&#39;s government has boosted domestic LPG production, negotiated the passage of a handful of tankers and purchased new cargoes from Australia and Russia. That should, in time, ease supply constraints. Jitendra Aghara of Simpolo Tiles, one of Morbi&#39;s biggest manufacturers, has kept operating by buying propane at more than double the price it was before the war to ensure he fulfills customer orders. &quot;If now we suffer a loss for two to three months, in the future we will get it back,&quot; he said. The tile industry developed in Gujarat due to the availability of clay and good transport connections, but it relies on overseas energy to fire. Aghara said the previous abundance of LPG and natural gas meant that there had been few moves to fully develop and adopt electric or hydrogen-powered kilns. Indian corporate giants like Reliance Industries have big green hydrogen production plans, which could remove Morbi&#39;s import dependencies. But first, development is needed to ensure hybrid kilns can produce tiles of the quality that Morbi is known for. Aghara noted alternative fuels can&#39;t replace gas &quot;100% just yet&quot;.

India

India depends on imports for 60% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand; the overwhelming majority comes through the Strait of Hormuz waterway, which has been effectively blocked.

Indian tile makers hit by energy crunch from US-Israel war on Iran

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ISLAMABAD: Criticism of Gujarat&rsquo;s new Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has been mounting since the bill was passed this week, with opposition parties and Muslim representatives arguing that the measure hits the state&rsquo;s Muslim minority hardest while being presented as a neutral reform. India Today and Livemint reported after Tuesday&rsquo;s vote that Congress called the law &ldquo;anti-Muslim,&rdquo; while The Indian Express said the lone Muslim Congress MLA in the Assembly argued it would push Muslims away from Shariat-based personal law.&nbsp; The Gujarat Assembly passed the UCC Bill on March 25 after more than seven hours of debate, making Gujarat the second BJP-ruled state after Uttarakhand to adopt such a code.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2036709824415879430&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=740a9b38c14d0d39a71d741fee71624ba2b7d9b1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 849px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The law creates a common framework for marriage, divorce, succession, and adoption across communities, but opposition lawmakers said the government was using the language of equality to override minority personal-law protections.&nbsp;Times of India said the code standardises family-law rules across religions but exempts Scheduled Tribes. That tribal exemption has become one of the sharpest lines of criticism.&nbsp;Opponents say a law marketed as &ldquo;uniform&rdquo; cannot credibly claim equal treatment while carving out one group but overriding the personal laws of others.&nbsp;Critics argue that, in practice, this makes the burden of legal change fall most heavily on Muslims, because Muslim personal law has been at the centre of the BJP&rsquo;s UCC politics.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2036693316675215476&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fmedia-library%2F&sessionId=740a9b38c14d0d39a71d741fee71624ba2b7d9b1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 761px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The Quint, Indian Express, and Times of India all highlighted the contradiction between the bill&rsquo;s universal branding and its selective reach.&nbsp; The broader political context also explains why many Muslims see Gujarat&rsquo;s UCC as targeted rather than neutral. Gujarat&rsquo;s UCC is being challenged not simply as a civil-law reform, but as a majoritarian project dressed up as uniformity; its structure, exemptions and political framing show that minorities, especially Muslims, are the real target.

Gujarat’s Uniform Civil Code has drawn opposition for overriding Muslim personal law while exempting other groups, intensifying accusations that the BJP is using legal reform in ways that disproportionately burden minorities.

Indian Gujarat’s Uniform Civil Code sparks minority rights concerns

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;Over 100 suspected cases of typhoid linked to contaminated drinking water have been reported in Gujarat&rsquo;s capital, Gandhinagar, over the past five days, prompting administrative action, health surveys, and urgent repair work by civic authorities, Indian media reported on Sunday. According to officials, most patients are being treated at Gandhinagar Civil Hospital. As of Saturday, the hospital had treated 104 children for suspected typhoid. Nineteen patients have been discharged so far, while nine new children were admitted, taking the total number of patients currently under treatment at the hospital to 94. Several other patients, including adults, are receiving treatment at private hospitals or recovering at home. Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Mita Parikh said the condition of all admitted patients is stable. She added that typhoid cases generally follow a 15-day cycle and cautioned that new cases could continue to surface over the next two weeks. However, she said the situation is expected to stabilize following corrective measures taken by the authorities. Sewage leakOfficials traced the outbreak to a sewage leak near a drinking water pipeline in Adivada village. Contaminated water from this source was supplied to nearby areas, including Sectors 24, 26, 27, and 29. Residents of these localities had complained of foul-smelling and visibly dirty water for nearly a week before the number of suspected typhoid cases rose sharply. Water samples collected from the affected areas were found unsafe for consumption, leading to immediate repairs of the damaged pipeline and the collection of fresh samples for testing. Complaints &lsquo;not addressed&rsquo;&nbsp;The Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation has also launched door-to-door health surveys to identify additional cases and prevent further spread of the infection. Local residents alleged that their repeated complaints about contaminated water were not addressed in time, forcing many families to rely on bottled water. In response, the civic body has advised residents to drink boiled water, consume home-cooked food, and use chlorine tablets to disinfect water storage tanks. Amit Shah reviews situation&nbsp;Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi visited Gandhinagar Civil Hospital to review treatment arrangements and said a special team of 22 doctors has been deployed. Union Home Minister and Gandhinagar MP Amit Shah has also reviewed the situation and directed officials to ensure speedy treatment, pipeline repairs, and continuous monitoring of the outbreak.

The typhoid cases of mostly children reported in Gandhinagar after sewage-contaminated drinking water supply; officials trace outbreak to a sewage leak near a drinking water pipeline in Adivada village.

Articles tagged with "Gujarat"

Indian tile makers hit by energy crunch from US-Israel war on Iran

Indian Gujarat’s Uniform Civil Code sparks minority rights concerns

Typhoid outbreak hits Indian city, over 100 suspected cases reported

Indian tile makers hit by energy crunch from US-Israel war on Iran