Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has suspended the Gas Supply to more than 600 industrial units for 84 hours, here on Wednesday, under new gas-shedding schedule, which will continue till April 02 at 06:00 pm.
Due to severe load-shedding textile processing, printing, sizing, hosieries and readymade garments and stitching units, chemical manufacturing units and washing soap manufacturers units were remained closed, resultantly about 400,000 workers most of them daily wagers become jobless.
Chaudhry Salamat Ali, Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone expressed grave concern over the 84 hours gas-shedding and said that the suspension of gas supply, as extremely unfair against the commitment of the President and Prime Minister that gas-shedding ended positively after March 15.
He said that gas stoppage for 84 hours would destroy the Value Added Textile Industry, while Punjab Chief Minister looks helpless to save the industry of the Province. He pointed out that the millions of workers had been left jobless, while production had declined by 70 per cent, which has made it impossible to fulfil the export orders on time.
He said that the Textile Industry had already suffered due to massive gas shedding during the last six months, which shows that gas suspension to the Punjab industry is a well planned conspiracy. The industrial activities were already frozen because of mismanagement and unfriendly course of action of the present regime, while the worst gas shortage throwing more fuel to the fire, he added.
Textile export worth million dollars from upcountry have been hit by gas load shedding coupled with electricity absence rendering labour jobless, he added. Chaudhry Salamat Ali said that as if the existent threats of gas & electricity load shedding, high mark-up rates, high inflation rates, and the ever deteriorating law & order situation were not enough for the industrial sector, which was barely surviving given the circumstances; this new threat of financial crisis will cripple the industry plus market money circle altogether unless immediate action was taken by the government to resolve very critical issues.
He demanded that decision of 3-1/2 days gas shedding should be taken back immediately and gas should be supplied to the Punjab's industries for 7-day. Decisions and promises of President and Prime Minister of Pakistan should be fulfilled in the best interest of the country.
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