The desperate traders want a broader crackdown on terrorists in the city to restore peace and end the continued wave of vandalism and target killings which have left social and business activities altogether paralysed.
A number of small traders on Wednesday, talking to Business Recorder, registered their complaints about terrorism and soaring power outages in the metropolis, saying that the government must ensure conducive business environment so that they could continue trade activities fearlessly.
They said the government should work on emergency basis for smooth supply of electricity to industries, markets and residential customers to free them of the "menace" of electricity load shedding. They said if the existing set-up of KESC was not working properly then the government should divide the city into four zones, and chalk out a strategy to improve the power supply to customers.
"The government should also give investment opportunity to some other interested power generating companies in the city since KESC is unable to produce the required amount of electricity," traders demanded. They said that Karachi has almost turned into a war zone and the government has to take stern measures to restore peace and stability not only for trade and business but also for the sake of social order of the city.
They expressed worries that the national exchequer was also facing huge loss of billions of rupees rom vandalism and violence, which was not only keeping the buyers away from markets but also panicking the businessmen. They also invited the government's attention towards the increasing prices of commodities in the wake soaring petroleum products, saying that hoarders were unduly charging for the daily items which are now out of the poor people's reach.
They said that the concerned authorities should also clamp down on the hoarders and profiteers for bringing the prices of essential items down, and subdue the high inflationary trend, somewhat. They said the rising unemployment was a prime reason behind the crime rate has increased in the city and the government should take note of that and work for new jobs creation more seriously.