"The closure of industries in the state capital has reduced the number of workers being employed from about 5,000 to 10,000 to hardly a thousand today,"Gupta said adding that there is an urgent need for reviving the small scale units in order to develop the state.

Gupta said that industrialists, who had extended a warm welcome to the introduction of VAT in the state, were now concerned due to discrepancies in its implementation as industrial inputs which are taxed at four per cent in other states were being taxed at 12.5 per cent in Bihar.

Also, unlike other states where "purchase preferance"is given to local industries, industries in Bihar have to do without it, said Prasad.

The industrialists are also extremely unhappy with at the poor infrastructure in the area where rainy season turns the industrial estate virtually impossible to reach due to severe waterlogging. Lack of essential infrastructure like continuous supply of electricity, well-planned drainage system and inadequate finances have stopped the growth of these industries, complain industrialists.The SSI cell chairman suggested an enquiry by the government into the reasons for closure of industries and fix accountability for the same, be it the financial institutions or the units themselves.