Energy crisis badly hitting agriculture, industrial sectors: chief minister Punjab

Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has said that Pakistan is facing serious energy crisis, which is badly affecting agriculture, industrial, and other sectors. He said that power shortage brought the industrial sector to a halt while the workers are loosing their livelihood.
He was with industrialists and traders over this issue and always raised the voice for their rights at every forum. He said that Punjab government is working on various projects for generation of power from alternative resources and the projects of production of 120 MW hydel power from Taunsa Barrage with the help of China would also be started shortly.
He said that Punjab had vast coal reserves and the government would set up power plants to utilise these resources and such power plants would be set up in industrial areas. He said that encroachments, profiteering and adulteration are social evils and traders' community should help the government in dealing with them.
He was addressing a meeting of the Presidents Chambers of Commerce & Industries and representatives of traders' organisations from all over the province at Chief Minister's Secretariat, here today. Provincial Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah Khan, Members National Assembly Pervaiz Malik, Mian Marghoob Ahmed, Members Provincial Assembly Hafiz Mian Nauman and secretaries of various departments were present.
The Chief Minister said that industrial and traders' community had extended commendable support to the government for rehabilitation of the victims of the worst ever flood in the country's history. He said that traders and businessmen had contributed major share to the huge amount of 1.5 billion rupees deposited in the flood relief fund.
He said that 22 model villages were being constructed in the flood-hit areas of South Punjab due to which a new culture would be introduced in these areas and these villages would be the best in the 63 years history of the country.
He said that the operation against encroachments was aimed at widening of the bazaars, which had been choked for the last number of years. He said that beside common man, the problems of the businessmen had also reduced due to anti-encroachment drive.
He said that the government would make no comprise over this operation. He said that energy crisis had destroyed industrial sector of the country and his proposal given in the meeting of the council of common interests for devolving power to the provinces to start energy projects had been accepted by federal and provincial governments due to which the provinces had been empowered to launch power projects.
He said that there are large coal reserves in Punjab, Balochistan and the government is working on the projects of generation of energy from coal. He said that a delegation would soon be sent to China for seeking Chinese co-operation in the projects of power generation from coal. He said that the Punjab government has decided to give up foreign aid in the interest of safeguarding the sovereignty of the country and this decision would be adhered to at any cost.
He said that the traders' community is the backbone of the national economy and a meeting would soon be convened and gaining information about their problems for their solution.
Industrialists and traders, while expressing their views in the meeting, said that energy crisis has seriously affected industrial sector and their business had been destroyed. They said that industries are being subjected to loadshedding of gas despite summer season while the situation in other provinces was different. They also apprised the Chief Minister of their problems. The Chief Minister issued on the spot orders for resolving a number of their problems.