No cut in 8-hour loadshedding in some industrial areas

N H ZUBERI

KARACHI: Industrialists expressed mixed response over the ongoing load shedding in industrial areas of the city.

Site Association of Industry (SAI) said that load shedding was further reduced in the area while Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati) said there was no respite from the 8-hour load shedding on Wednesday in the industrial area.

Chairman SAI Mohammad Irgfan Moton said that production activities were limping toward normalcy, as Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) further reduced load shedding in Site industrial area.

He said that the power utility had reduced load shedding from eight to four hours daily.

However, he expressed concern over low gas pressure in industrial areas due to which captive power units remained idle.

He expressed hope that within next few days load shedding in industrial areas would be finished.

However, Chairman KATI Ehtishamuddin said that there was no respite from load shedding in the industrial area and KESC was still carrying out eight hours load shedding.

He also expressed concerns over low gas pressure in industrial areas and said that Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) informed that gas pressure would remain low by the end of January 2012 owing to increase in consumption in Balocistan during winter and low gas supply from gas fields.

Former Vice Chairman KATI Jawaid Queshi said that besides load shedding industrialists were also faced labour shortage on Wednesday due to shortage of public t transport.

He expressed the fear that labour shortage would further aggravate on Thursday as more busses will go off the roads owing to closure of CNG stations.

He said around 95 percent buses and public transport was now being operated on CNG and closure of CNG stations for two days had forced buses to go off the roads.