"All the industries in Faisalabad will be closed down with the power supply suspension to textile mills indefinitely leading to stoppage of exports and depriving lacks of workers from their earnings in Faisalabad region. There will be total economic chaos in the area," said Mian Zahid Aslam, President Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) here on Monday.
A joint meeting of heads of trade bodies as Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), Khurianwala Industrial Association (KIYA), Embroidery Association, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (Faisalabad region), Power Looms Association, Soap and Rice Associations was held at FCCI to arrive at a strategy on the gravity of the situation due to this sudden suspension of power supply to the textile industries in Faisalabad.
Majority of the leading business leaders and entrepreneurs as Mian Latif of Chenab Group, Mian M Anis of Sitara Group, Azhar Majeed Sheikh, CEO Arzoo Textile Mills & Vice President FPCCI (Punjab); and other prominent business leaders shared their views in the meeting.
Mian Zahid Aslam said textile industry in Faisalabad was already in severe crisis due to prolonged loadshedding of electricity and gas and the sudden suspension of electricity had halted the industrial wheel which would result into closure of the remaining small units in the next few days as textile industries had backward and forward integration with other industries and downstream small units.
It was further said that industrial strength had already been weakened with the prolonged loadshedding of electricity and gas, high prices of inputs, unstable law and order situation and this suspension of electricity supply to textile industries in Faisalabad would destroy the economy of the region in particular and national economy at large.
He further said the step of the government would ruin not only the trade, businesses and industrial activity in the area but also deprive of lacs of workers and businesses attached with the industries resulting into further deteriorating the law and order situation in the area.
It was apprehended that government would suffer more if a little saving was made on oil import for the time being but huge loss would incur due to steep fall in export earnings which is estimated as three billion dollars. FCCI Chief urged the government and relevant authorities to reinstate the electricity supply to the textile industries immediately to save the unbearable economic loss to the Faisalabad industries as well as to the national exports of no return.
PTEA Chairman Asghar Ali said Pakistan earned 65 percent of total annual GDPA from textile industry and this industry brought 14 billion dollars worth foreign exchange to the country. But the present plight with no electricity and gas supply to the industry will result in dreadful shut down of textile units and large scale unemployment.
Only in Faisalabad, 68 units were forced into closure and one million labourers left unemployed because of electricity disconnection without any forewarning and announcement. This would result in one billion rupee loss to the industry and the country daily.
Other textile unit owners present in the meeting strongly condemned the power supply cut off to the textile units and said it had become impossible to work in such unfavourable circumstances. They said the present situation would further degenerate the plight of textile industry in the country. This will give an unprecedented hike to unemployment and poverty in Pakistan.
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