More than 600 industrial units including textile processing, printing, dyeing, sizing, weaving and knitting remained closed on the third consecutive day, here on Tuesday. Industrialists and workers observed 'Black Day' against the five-day gas loadshedding in a week for which Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) issued the schedule as a result a large number of workers of the textile sector in Punjab lost their jobs.
Furthermore, thousands of workers belonging to hundreds of nearby powerlooms, sizing factories and other small scale ancillaries & vender units took out a protest procession by carrying banners and black flags, which was led by Mian Abdul Qayyum, Chairman, Pakistan Labour Qaumi Movement.
The protesters also raised the slogans against the arrest of labour leaders and demanded their immediate release. Women labour force also took part in the protest demonstration and observed that gas loadshedding schedule is actually a death warrant for the textile industry, which is main source of livelihood of millions of people of Punjab.
The labour leaders at the sit-in outside the City District Government offices vowed to struggle against the gas loadshedding and violations of the human rights widely. This protest sit-in continued for four hours at various focal points, resultantly traffic was remained suspended on Jhang Road, Narwala Road, Dhobi Ghat link roads, Kotwali road, Liaquat road and District Courts link roads.
Talking to mediamen, Chaudhry Salamat Ali, Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone said that the five days gas loadshedding in a week by SNGPL is yielding negative impact on the economy. He described government policy as a conspiracy hatched by some political elements to crush political rivals in Punjab at the cost of the value added textile sector.
He warned of grave consequences of gas load shedding that might trigger violent protests from jobless workers. The entire industry and the industrial workers had been pushed to the wall. "It is not the industry alone that is suffering badly but it is the entire economy that is facing unprecedented challenges," he added.
He said that at the moment when the industrial production was registering negative growth and the business community was facing severe difficulties, the increase in gas loadshedding would leave them with no other option but to shut down their units. Loadshedding of gas would badly affect the export oriented industry which would not be able to meet the export deadlines. He said that massive challenges have already crippled the industrial activities.
The gas loadshedding would bring economic activities to a grinding halt so the government should give priority to this sector in order to revive economic activities in the country, he said adding instead of controlling gas theft of billions of rupees, the authorities have started prolonged gas loadshedding which would result in closure of a good number of industries, one of the leading job providing sectors in the country.