LCCI supports APTMA’s stance: Govt appealed to restore power, gas supplies

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Endorsing Aptma’s stance on energy crisis, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has appealed to the government to restore supply of power and gas properly to the Punjab industries to save millions of jobs.

The LCCI President Farooq Iftikhar said that the government has indicated closure of power for over a month, the industries are left with no other choice but to lay off millions of workers till the power supply and gas supply will fully restore.

He said that Aptma has already announced to relieve its workers because of total closure of their mills while other affected sectors would soon follow the suit. He said justice demands that all provinces should be treated equally in supply of these important utilities. He said that gas closure had already put the jobs of over 15 million people and exports of around $14 billion at stake.“Government would have to reset its priorities regarding provision of gas otherwise situation would go out of hands”, he mentioned.

He said that the new gas load management plan is a well-calculated and well thought-out conspiracy against the present regime. “The rise in number of unemployed would definitely give air to anti-government sentiments.” “It is not the industry only that would be suffering massively but the government would also be an ultimate loser on many counts” he added.

He said that there is a global phenomenon that industry is given top priority whereas in Pakistan it comes to the least and other sectors are given priority. He also urged the government to get replaced obsolete gas geysers and heaters with latest solar geysers and heaters to ensure gas to the industry. The LCCI President said that around 40 percent of the industrial units in Punjab run on gas and gas suspension means no production by almost half of the industry and a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer.