Frequent power shutdowns have caused as much as Rs 2.5 billion loss to Sheikhupura industry in three months, which in turn, will deprive the national exchequer of a substantive amount in terms of taxes.
As many as 900 industries, including paper mills, chemical, food, fertilisers, light and heavy engineering and heavy mechanical etc, are located in Sheikhupura district, of which, over 400 are situated on main Sheikhupura Road.
These industries are facing severe hardships due to unscheduled load shedding by Wapda, which has reduced the industrial output of the area by 25 percent, Shahzad Ali Nagina, Chairman, Sheikhupura Association of Industry, told Lahore-based journalists who visited the industrial area.
Wapda is resorting to 3-4 hours daily load shedding in the area and this practice has been going on for last three months, causing Rs 25 billion loss only to Sheikupura Road industry, he claimed. Despite contributing billions of rupees to the national exchequer in terms of taxes, Sheikhupara industrial area is facing multiple hardships and problems and suffering a lot due to the apathetic attitude of government functionaries, he complained.
Frequent power shutdowns, lack of facilities such as fire fighters, schools, hospitals were the main problems of this area, he pointed out. "We have internal arrangements to extinguish fire in factories, but there is no such facility from the government side," he pointed out.
Manzoor Malik, Convenor of the Association, who arranged the visit, said one of the reasons for piling up of their problems was that their association had no representation at any appropriate forum. Whenever the industrial and business community of the area raised their voice at government level, they were turned a deaf ear, mainly because of their non-representation at any platform.
"The existence of Sheikhupura Chamber of Commerce and Industry was just symbolic as no businessman or trader of the district was its member, nor the persons who run this so-called chamber ever offered its membership to any one," Manzoor Malik revealed.
It is ironic that this industrial estate, which is located in hearts of Gujranwala, Narowal, Faisalabad and Nankana, had lost its importance despite being abundant in industrial and other resources, he said. The significance of this area could be well-gauged by the fact that all Wapda grid stations and transmission lines and Sui gas lines passed through this area, but even then it was facing frequent power shutdowns, which was affecting their business adversely.
Unfortunately, law and order situation in this area was also very dismal and the area had become notorious for theft, dacoities and highway robberies. Except the main road, there was no allied communication links in the area. There was also no drainage system and dirty water was spreading diseases in the area, he said.
He also pointed out that there was no interchange on Motorway, although it passed through this area. The industrial community of the country was paying billions of rupees to the national exchequer, but in return, they were forced to stand in long queues to pay toll taxes and token tax on motorway and highways, which was the worst kind of example to disgracing and mentally torturing them.
About Sheikhupura dryport project, Manzoor Malik said it was delayed despite the fact that Pakistan Railways had enough land for its establishment. Narrating other problems, he said there was no playground and any other facility for promotion of recreational and healthy activities in the area. He also stressed the need of establishing vocational and technical training institutes in the area to ensure provisions of skilled labour to the industries.
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