ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) has shown great concerns over the gas load shedding to industry in the federal capital as it would badly affect their productivity and ultimately hurt the overall economy.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that the supply of gas has been stopped abruptly to various industries in Islamabad including steel re-rolling mills, steel furnaces, which has badly disturbed their production schedules. He said that this unwise decision would cause closure of many industries and render hundreds of workers jobless. He said that the supply of gas to industry has been suspended in the peak summer season, which has never happened before as domestic consumption of gas in summer season normally comes down to the lowest level. He demanded that the government should conduct a thorough enquiry into the emerging gas crisis in the country and fix responsibility on those who are found involved in gas mismanagement. He said that the relevant authorities should have done proper advanced planning to deal with such situations in order to minimise the impact of the gas crisis on the industrial sector.
ICCI President said that IESCO has also started electricity loadshedding for industries like steel re-rolling and steel furnaces from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm in Islamabad without taking stakeholders on board, which has multiplied the problems of the industrial sector. He said that due to the shutdown of private feeders by IESCO, the industrial labor has been deprived of the supply of electricity due to which they were badly suffering in this hot season. He said that this situation would create a shortage of labor supply to industries. Therefore, he emphasized that IESCO should end 5 hour loadshedding for industry and restore all private feeders to provide uninterrupted electricity supply to industrial labor in order to mitigate their sufferings. He was of the view that the gas and electricity crisis due to mismanagement would discourage many potential investors to consider Pakistan for investment and urged that the government should take strong action against the responsible persons. He also appealed to OGRA to conduct an inquiry into the gas mismanagement and fix responsibility on the culprits.