Message-ID: <22413608.1075863430104.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 15:25:00 -0700 (PDT) From: j.kaminski@enron.com To: vkaminski@aol.com Subject: FW: From The Enron India Newsdesk - July 7-9th newsclips Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-From: Kaminski, Vince J X-To: 'vkaminski@aol.com' X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \VKAMINS (Non-Privileged)\Kaminski, Vince J\Sent Items X-Origin: Kaminski-V X-FileName: VKAMINS (Non-Privileged).pst -----Original Message----- From: =09Kohli, Sandeep =20 Sent:=09Monday, July 09, 2001 8:31 AM To:=09Kaminski, Vince J Subject:=09FW: From The Enron India Newsdesk - July 7-9th newsclips Vince, This makes interesting reading. Regards, Sandeep. -----Original Message----- From: =09Varma, Nikita =20 Sent:=09Monday, July 09, 2001 5:46 AM To:=09Varma, Nikita Subject:=09From The Enron India Newsdesk - July 7-9th newsclips THE ECONOMIC TIMES Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.economictimes.com/today/09econ07.htm Enron chairman coming today, Girish Kuber=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- BUSINESS STANDARD Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.business-standard.com/today/news.asp?Menu= =3D67#4 Enron brass positive on resolving dispute, chairman to meet FM today=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010709/news2.htm= l Enron chairman to hold talks with Vajpayee, Sinha, Prabhu Sanjay Jog The above article was also reported in the following newspaper: THE TIMES OFINDIA Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.timesofindia.com/today/09busu6.htm Enron chief to discuss Dabhol with Prabhu=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE TIMES OF INDIA Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.timesofindia.com/today/09busu7.htm Enron India chief optimistic about Dabhol=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE ECONOMIC TIMES Monday, July 09, 2001, http://216.34.146.167:8000/servlet/Form Judicial probe sought into Enron imbroglio ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE TIMES OF INDIA Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.timesofindia.com/080701/08busi8.htm BJP favours judicial probe into Enron controversy=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE ECONOMIC TIMES Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.economictimes.com/today/09infr03.htm Privatise MSEB generation, distribution: Panel The above article was also reported in the following newspapers: BUSINESS STANDARD Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.business-standard.com/today/economy7.asp?= Menu=3D3 MSEB should be privatised, says Godbole panel ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE TIMES OF INDIA Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.timesofindia.com/today/09busi5.htm Godbole panel recommends privatisation of MSEB=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- MID DAY,=20 Monday, July 09, 2001, http://www.chalomumbai.com/asp/article.asp?cat_id=3D= 29&art_id=3D12941&cat_code=3D2F574841545F535F4F4E5F4D554D4241492F5441415A41= 5F4B4841424152 Dabhol employees sure company will pull out, Deepak Lokhande ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- MID DAY Sunday, July 08, 2001, 1http://www.chalomumbai.com/asp/article.asp?cat_id= =3D29&cat_code=3D2f574841545f535f4f4e5f4d554d4241492f5441415a415f4b48414241= 52&art_id=3D12925 Villages suffer with Enron shutting shop ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Monday, July 09, 2001 Enron chairman coming today, Girish Kuber=20 =20 THERE would be renewed efforts to resolve the Dabhol dispute with Kenneth L= ay, the high profile chairman of Enron Corp, arriving in Delhi tomorrow. Mr= Lay is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajapayee and finance = minister Yashwant Sinha, besides power minister Suresh Prabhu. He will disc= uss the fate of Dabhol Power Company which is locked in a dispute with the = MSEB. According to central government sources Mr Lay will take up the issue= with none other than the Prime Minister and finance minister during his st= ay in Delhi. His itinerary remains a closely guarded secret with Enron offi= cials unwilling to share any information on the issue. However, according t= o government sources Mr Lay's office had got in touch with the PMO to confi= rm the meeting. Mr Lay, flying in his Gulf Stream, would be reaching Delhi = tomorrow. He is coming to India at a time when around six states have shown= interest in buying the Enron power. However, these states are interested o= nly if Enron makes it available at around Rs 2.50 per unit - which is unacc= eptable to the company.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- BUSINESS STANDARD, Monday, July 09, 2001 Enron brass positive on resolving dispute, chairman to meet FM today=20 Wade Cline, chief executive of the Indian operations of Enron Corp, said to= day in New Delhi that he was optimistic about working through the payment d= ispute with MSEB."There are a variety of options, and we are trying to work= out solutions," he said after a meeting with the finance secretary."We are= having good meetings with the ministry. So, we are optimistic," Cline said= . He added he had briefed the finance secretary ahead of the meeting of Ken= neth Lay, chairman of Enron, with finance minister Yashwant Sinha. Lay is a= lso due to meet power minister Suresh Prabhu and other senior officials tod= ay in connection with the payment dispute between Enron's Dabhol Power Comp= any and MSEB. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, Monday, July 09, 2001 Enron chairman to hold talks with Vajpayee, Sinha, Prabhu Sanjay Jog The Enron chairman Kenneth Lay, during his closely-guarded India visit, wil= l hold talks with the Prime Minister AB Vajpayee, the Union Finance Ministe= r Yashwant Sinha, Union Minister for Power Suresh Prabhu and some of the up= country contacts. Mr Lay, during his short visit commencing from late Sunda= y night, may also hold talks with the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and v= arious political and business leaders in New Delhi. Informed sources told T= he Financial Express that efforts are on to organise a meeting with the Mah= arashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and his colleagues in the ministr= y.The Dabhol Power Company (DPC) declined to give details about Mr Lay's vi= sit. "We don't want to comment," said its spokesman Jimmy Mogal. Mr Lay's v= isit deserves special significance, especially when the Maharashtra State E= lectricity Board (MSEB) has stopped power purchase from DPC since May 29, a= fter issuing a notice to rescind its power purchase agreement with DPC. MSE= B has also got shot in the arm when the Mumbai high court dismissed a writ = petition filed by the DPC challenging the jurisdiction of Maharashtra Elect= ricity Regulatory Commission to adjudicate upon its dispute and difference = with MSEB. Mr Lay, who alongwith DPC's former chief executive officer Rebecca Mark had= convinced the necessity for survival of Dabhol project to the previous Shi= v Sena-BJP government in 1996 and 1998, may have to make similar efforts ag= ain. Mr Lay in early May had made it clear that "India can illafford the ve= ry public fight the Dabhol has become. It sends a bad signal to the rest of= the world as to the difficulties of investors in India, which is not what = India needs right now." Mr Lay further said that "India needs a lot of fore= ign investment if the country expects to build up its infrastructure." Howe= ver, Mr Sinha had contested Mr Lay's claim and said that "there is no need = for us to think that because there is a problem with Enron, it is necessari= ly going to act as a dampner to foreign direct investment.Mr Lay's visit is= also crucial, especially when the the Congress president Sonia Gandhi duri= ng here recent US visit has assured the American leadership that the Congre= ss-led government in Maharashtra will make every effort to amicably resolve= the Enron controversy. The former union finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh= , who was accompanying the Congress president, had told the US leadership t= hat the effort now is to find an amicable and mutually satisfactory solutio= n based on purely economic and business considerations. Meanwhile, DPC has relaunched an advertisement campaign entitled " why do I= then write to you today?" coinciding Mr Lay's visit. However, the anti-Enr= on lobby is quite amused to see the ad campaign as it alleged that the DPC = is misleading the people. According to a senior leader of anti-Enron moveme= nt, it clearly shows that Enron had minted money during its operation since= may 1999 and it has funds to spend on ad campaign, especially when the pow= er generation has been closed since May 29. The anti-Enron lobby is expecte= d to press for the judicial probe against Dabhol deal at the coordination c= ommittee meeting of the constituents of the ruling Democratic Front schedul= ed for July 11.=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE TIMES OF INDIA, Monday, July 09, 2001 Enron India chief optimistic about Dabhol=20 The chief executive of Enron Corp's Indian arm said on Monday he was optimi= stic about working through the company's payment dispute with a local utili= ty. "There are a variety of options facing us with the project. We are just= trying to work through those," Wade Cline told reporters in the Indian cap= ital after a meeting with the finance secretary. "We are having good meetin= gs with the ministry, so we are optimistic," Cline said. He added he had br= iefed the finance secretary ahead of Enron Corp Chairman Kenneth Lay's meet= ing with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. Lay is due to meet Sinha, the pow= er minister and senior officials in connection with the payment dispute bet= ween Enron's Dabhol Power Co and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board wh= ich has defaulted on payments of $48 million to Dabhol. Enron's project is = the largest direct foreign investment in India. Its first phase of 740 MW w= as completed in 1998, while a second phase adding another 1,444 MW was almo= st complete when its contractor stopped work because of the dispute. (Reute= rs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Monday, July 09, 2001 Judicial probe sought into Enron imbroglio =20 THE STATE executive of the BJP in Maharashtra on Saturday passed a resoluti= on favouring a judicial probe into all aspects of the 'controversial' agree= ment signed between the state government and the US energy major Enron. The= resolution is perceived by political analysts as a move aimed at forcing t= he DF government to agree to a judicial probe into the Enron issue even tho= ugh the ruling DF coordinating committee had earlier deferred a decision on= the question to July 11. At a closed door meeting held at Dombivali in Tha= ne district on Saturday, the BJP state executive stated that "it had nothin= g to hide and is in favour of a judicial probe." The resolution also lambas= ted the DF government for 'playing politics' and "trying to settle scores w= ith the NCP chief Sharad Pawar," according to BJP spokesman B Atul. "If the= re is a demand for a judicial enquiry into the Enron issue, the BJP is not = opposed to it," he said. The change in the BJP's stand on the Enron issue a= t this juncture is significant as the BJP national vice president Gopinath = Munde had earlier opposed a judicial probe in the matter.=20 Coming down heavily on the ruling DF government for raking up old issues an= d pressing for reversal of the names of Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv to the= ir original names, Atul alleged "the government is practising revengeful po= litics." Flaying the DF government for adopting a communal overtone, the re= solution further stated that the state government's attitude is aimed at di= sturbing the social harmony of the state. The BJP's changed stand on contes= ting the local self-governing bodies election also figured at the meeting w= hich passed a resolution calling for an alliance with the Shiv Sena during = the zilla parishad and civic elections, deviating from its earlier stand of= '100 per cent bjp', Atul said. Around 300 party workers, including BJP lea= ders, Gopinath Munde, Union ministers Ram Naik, Pramod Mahajan and Jaywanti= ben Mehta were among those who attended the meeting, presided over by the s= tate BJP president, Pandurang Phundkar. The meeting will conclude on Sunday= , Atul added. (PTI)=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE TIMES OF INDIA, Monday, July 09, 2001 BJP favours judicial probe into Enron controversy=20 The state executive of the BJP in Maharashtra on Saturday passed a resoluti= on favouring a judicial probe into all aspects of the controversial agreeme= nt signed between the state government and the US energy major Enron. The r= esolution is perceived by political analysts as a move aimed at forcing the= DF government to agree to a judicial probe into the Enron issue even thoug= h the ruling DF coordinating committee had earlier deferred a decision on t= he question to July 11. At a closed door meeting held at Dombivali in Thane= district on Saturday, the BJP state executive stated that "it had nothing = to hide and is in favour of a judicial probe." The resolution also lambaste= d the DF government for 'playing politics' and 'trying to settle scores wit= h the NCP chief Sharad Pawar,' according to BJP spokesman B Atul.=20 "If there is a demand for a judicial enquiry into the Enron issue, the BJP = is not opposed to it," he said. The change in the BJP's stand on the Enron = issue at this juncture is significant as the BJP national vice president Go= pinath Munde had earlier opposed a judicial probe in the matter. Coming dow= n heavily on the ruling DF government for raking up old issues and pressing= for reversal of the names of Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv to their origina= l names, Atul alleged, "the government is practising revengeful politics." = Flaying the DF government for adopting a communal overtone, the resolution = further stated that the state government's attitude is aimed at disturbing = the social harmony of the state.=20 The BJP's changed stand on contesting the local self governing bodies elect= ion also figured at the meeting which passed a resolution calling for an al= liance with the Shiv Sena during the zilla parishad and civic elections, de= viating from its earlier stand of shatpratishat bha ja pa (100 per cent BJP= ), Atul said. Around 300 party workers, including BJP leaders, Gopinath Mun= de, union ministers Ram Naik, Pramod Mahajan and Jaywantiben Mehta were amo= ng those who attended the meeting, presided over by the state BJP president= , Pandurang Phundkar. The meeting will conclude on Sunday, Atul added. (PTI= )=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- THE ECONOMIC TIMES, Monday, July 09, 2001 Privatise MSEB generation, distribution: Panel =20 EVEN as Maharashtra grapples over its energy crisis with US energy major En= ron, Godbole Review Committee has recommended outright privatisation of the= loss-making state electricity board's distribution network and generation = unit in the second part of its report to be submitted on July 11. "The repo= rt outlines path breaking reforms, which not only suggests restructuring of= MSEB, but also makes its clear that its once-a-very-good board will be des= troyed, if it continues as a government body", official sources said here o= n Sunday. The report would be submitted to the state chief minister Vilasra= o Deshmukh on Tuesday morning, sources said. "The committee has recommended= that MSEB's government ownership should be dissolved, however, the control= of transmission network should rest with it". "MSEB's current assets are c= lose to worth Rs 12,000 crore and once Cabinet approves the proposal follow= ing submission of the report, process like inviting tenders from private pa= rties may be taken up", officials said.=20 According to the report, the interested companies would have to infuse capi= tal investment in the distribution and generation networks with an increase= d rate of return at about 4.8 per cent, sources explained. The 200-plus pag= es report draws a detailed road map for the need to privatise MSEB, a diffe= rent model from what was implemented in other states, sources added. The so= urces said experiences of Orissa, Haryana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh wer= e closely studied by the panel and then it decided to recommend this model = of privatisation. "The mantra of privatisation of only distribution network= has failed all over the country", official sources said. The report has em= phasised on creating distribution network zones in the state's urban and ru= ral areas respectively, bids for which could be invited for, they said. "Th= e rural zones are very crucial for us", sources said adding, "the report re= commends that these should be handed over to any private party, be it a co-= operative like the Pravara Electricity or a non-governmental organisation w= ith a clear cut subsidy payout". The committee has also worked out a subsid= y model, which would intersperse with a special "transmisssion charge" levi= ed by the state government after privatisation to the companies, official s= ources said. "The report suggests that the transmission company should levy= a surcharge over an above the billing chargs, which would be used for reco= vering the cross-subsidies", the sources said. The aim to privatise only di= stribution and generation is to facilitate pure trade of power and avoid an= y kind of other interferences, mainly political, the sources added. (PTI)= =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- MID DAY, Monday, July 09, 2001,=20 Dabhol employees sure company will pull out, Deepak Lokhande When Enron Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lay arrives in India today to tr= y to renegotiate the Dabhol power project, he will find that his employees = are certain the company will pull out of the venture. " Everyday the govern= ment adopts a new stance. We have been given an indication that the company= will pull out," said a senior officer working with Dabhol Power Company (D= PC), Enron' s Indian subsidiary. " When the company was ready to renegotiat= e, the state government was adamant that it wouldn't hold any discussions. = Now, when they are pressing for renegotiations and a reduction in tariff, t= he company is not willing. Lay will meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaye= e and apprise him of the state government' s changing stands," he said. The= atmosphere at the Veldoor plant near Dabhol is one of gloom. Recently, sev= eral thousand workers were laid off when the plant was forced to shut down = because the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) refused to purchase = electricity. MSEB claimed that DPC did not fulfil conditions of the Power P= urchase Agreement (PPA). " There used to be 10,000 labourers working at the= plant, either on the construction of the second phase, which is 90 per cen= t complete, or for the first phase generating electricity. Today, the plant= looks like a smashaan (cemetery). Workers keep asking each other who is th= e next to go. It is sad," he said.Till recently, the main gate of the plant= would be thronged by daily wage workers. Today, there are hardly any. Even= those having permanent jobs with DPC are not sure if their jobs are safe. = Stories of how even senior officers were shown the door in an unceremonious= manner are making the rounds. " The other day a very senior officer was to= ld that he was not required any more. By the time he reached his residence = provided by the company, his phone lines were cut. He had to go out and pho= ne relatives and friends. He was asked to collect his dues the next day. On= arriving at the gate, he was in for another shock. He was asked to get him= self a visitor' s pass with restricted access. It was shocking," said a con= tractor. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- MID DAY, Sunday, July 08, 2001 Villages suffer with Enron shutting shop Enron is going back, and going back with it are the riches it brought to Gu= hagar and Dabhol talukas. Most hit are traders at Shringartali (Tali), a ma= rket that is 10 km away from Veldoor, where Enron built its 2000 plus mw th= ermal power plant. The crash here has been more severe than the dotcom cras= h as business volumes have reduced by more than 1000 per cent and the real-= estate market has hit rock bottom.Says Uday Deolekar, who owns a building m= aterial shop at Tali, "It used to be Diwali time while the project was on. = On Sundays, the four-lane road would throb with buyers." The party was over= , however, with the state Government pulling the plug on Enron. Gloom took = over as workers started leaving the project site around February. There has= been little business activity since then.Deolekar used to run a small shop= of pan-beedi and groceries till about eight years ago when Enron came to D= abhol. Construction activity picked up in the area and Deolekar, with his b= rother-in-law Mohan Sansare, seized the opportunity and started supplying b= uilding material. Business flourished and the Sansares took over a plot of = land to open four more shops. Sitting at one of them, Deolekar is waiting f= or customers today."Villagers in Tali and nearby areas wanted to refurbish = their houses to accommodate paying guests coming in hordes. There was great= demand for accommodation and hardly any supply. While blue-collar workers = were happy with dormitory-type arrangements, white-collar officials wanted = one-room, kitchen, attached bath type apartments. Many villagers started co= nstructing lodges and boarding houses to cater to demand. Little did they r= ealise that the party would have come to an end in any case once the constr= uction was over," says Deolekar. However, his brother-in-law Mohan is happy that Enron is going back. "They = were quite arrogant. They may have brought money to this area, but they als= o brought all the vices - booze, gambling and what not. Enron will go back,= cash flow will dry up but these vices will now remain with us forever," he= says. He wants an Indian company to take over the plant and run it. Naseem= shet, owner of Kasam Mohammed Memon shop, is one of the biggest traders in = Tali. "I used to work for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). When Enron offi= cers came here in 1994, they stayed in my guesthouses. I was pressurised by= the party then to break off my ties with them, but I told myself I must ke= ep politics out of business. I am happy I did that. See how BJP leaders are= now backing the project to the hilt. I received bulk orders and business s= hot up. Last three years were crazy. Now we are back to square one - cateri= ng to around 6,000 buyers from nearby villages," he says. The Memons rented out an entire building, accommodating around nine persons= for Rs 21,000 a month during boom time. Now the building does not have any= takers even for Rs 3,000 per month. The Memons had also started a transpor= t business seeing the vast money involved. Dabhol Power Company (DPC) used = to pay Rs 45,000 per month to hire a Tata Sumo. "Our drivers started their = own business. After the crash, they have come back to us begging for Rs 2,5= 00-a-month job. But now I can't afford them," he says. Nandu Bartakke, who = owns a grocery shop in Guhagar, recalls how Rs 10 per kg rice would be term= ed as "expensive" by locals. "After they got jobs at DPC, however, their li= festyles changed. They wanted Surti Kolam rice, which costs Rs 24 per kg. I= f I said it was costly, they would tell me they couldn't digest the Rs 10 p= er kg rice. They forgot that they grew on that rice," he says. Most of thes= e locals, who had suddenly become rich with their Rs 10,000-a-month jobs wi= th DPC, are yet to get over the crash. Bartakke claims traders from Chiplun= market, which is 35 km away from DPC site, reaped rich dividends. "They kn= ew what an industry requires. They have been catering to MIDC's industrial = estate at Lote Parshuram for years now. They carefully invested their money= and focussed on what DPC needed. Hardly any of them ever indulged in tempo= rary markets such as real estate or transport," he says.Agrees Shailesh War= watkar, a shop-owner in Chiplun market. "We concentrated on chillar items s= uch as plastic bags, ball pens and stuff like that. It was astonishing to s= ee DPC paying Rs 5.25 for used gunny bag, otherwise priced at 60 paise in t= he market. DPC always wanted huge quantities in real quick time, and they p= aid any price that was quoted."=20 Not all have made money though. For Hari Babu of S N Instrumentation, the e= xperience has come as a shocker. His company was awarded a sub-contract by = Punj-Lloyd. Babu came in February and by April, DPC was sailing in troubled= waters. Since mid-June Babu has hardly had any work. He has sent back 78 p= eople from his team and is awaiting further instructions from his company's= office in Kolkata. "We will sue them. How can they a terminate six months'= contract just like that?" says a livid Babu. But he knows the futility of = his anger. "We will sue Punj-Lloyd. Punj-Lloyd will slap case against Sansc= ra, the French company. Sanscra will start legal proceedings against Bechte= l. Bechtel will file suit against DPC and DPC will go in arbitration agains= t Maharashtra Government. It's a long and never-ending chain."=20 DPC auctioning jeeps, computers at throwaway prices=20 Dabhol Power Company (DPC) and several other companies who were involved in= the setting up of Dabhol Power Project, have started auctioning four-wheel= ers, computers and are likely to put on sale refrigerators and air-conditio= ners.The buzz in the area is vehicles like Tata Sumos, Mahindra Armada, Com= mander and Jeeps are available at throwaway prices. "They are selling vehic= les kilo ke hisaab se. I heard a jeep was available for just Rs 27,000," sa= id Warwatkar. Indeed, there were a few vehicles put on sale at the site car= rying a price tag of Rs 29,000 for 1997 Commanders. But the tag also mentio= ned of major breakdown of engine as known defects. Most other vehicles were= available at a minimum bid price of Rs 60,000 onwards and looked in bad sh= ape after a rough use in difficult terrain. Bodywork was required in most c= ases. Locals, however, believe it's still a good buy. The goods are, however, are offered to employees first, who bid their price= . Some of them have started selling these goods at higher prices to others.= Naseem Memon bought a Mahindra Marshall for Rs 1.11 lakh through one of th= e employees who had bought it at company auction, and immediately got an of= fer of Rs 1.25 lakh. Memon is not selling it just now. "I will repair it an= d I am sure it will fetch at least Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.," he says. Th= e area is flooded with buyers from Mumbai, Karad, Satara and Pune. Shortly,= computers, fridges and ACs will also be put on sale and DPC employees will= have their hands full with requests from outsiders.