Presidents of all the seven industrial town associations of the city have demanded of the government to supply full gas to industries as per allocated quota in Sindh and warned that if that demand was not met they would shut down industrial units launch protests.
They disclosed this while addressing a joint press conference, attended by President Site Association of Industry (SAI) Mohammad Javaid Bilwani, President Federal B Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBAATI) Jawed Ali Ghori, President Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Rashid Ahmed Siddiqui, President North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) Abdul Rasheed Fodderwala, President Site Superhighway Association Trade and Industry (SSATI) Engr Nisar Ahmed Khan, Chairman Businessmen Group Siraj Kassim Teli and Former President KCCI Zubair Motiwala.
They asserted that under Article 158, the province producing gas had the first right, saying currently the distribution of gas in Sindh was most inequitable and unjustified because SSGC was supplying gas in Sindh less than allocated.
They said if the government did not supply proper, adequate and full pressure gas to the Karachi industries, those export-oriented industries with 50 percent of contribution in exports to Pakistan would be ruined, closed down and throw up a huge number of workers jobless creating a very grim scenario in the country. They said the government was not paying any heed to their demand of improving water, gas and power supply, besides developing the infrastructure of the city's industrial estates.
They expressed disappointment over the non-serious approach of the government and said that in such a state of affairs it had become impossible for them to continue industrial activities. Sindh Minister for Industry Mohammad Ali Malkani said Sindh had the highest gas production share in the country but still the province had suffered and faced all those problems like gas low pressure, abrupt gas supply suspensions etc.
He assured industrial community that Sindh would plead its case with federal government and gas supply issue would be agitated in comment interest council. Siraj Kassim Teli expressed great surprise at the complete silence and no action against non-supply of gas to industries by the Sindh Government and those political parties who had a mandate from the lakhs of labourers employed in industrial areas who could be rendered jobless.
He said the federal government had failed to resolve issues faced by industrialists in Sindh in general and in Karachi in particular. Mohammad Javaid Bilwani said it was an irony that there was no implementation despite existence of Article 158 of Constitution states. He said with such low pressure of gas, it was impossible for industries to run their production resulting in failure to meet their export commitments due to passing away of the deadline, adding "in that situation, foreign buyers do not lift the goods and at the same time we lose the valuable orders for the next season." He said it seemed that the government intended to make the country a trading estate instead of industrial.
He said Sindh province which produced 70 percent of natural gas was deprived of gas and wondered where that gas, produced by Sindh, was being supplied while the industries were starving for gas which was a great dilemma. Rashid Ahmed Siddiqui expressed grave apprehension that if government did not provide gas to the industries it would render lakhs of workers jobless which would cause great chaos and immense disaster.
Abdul Rasheed Fodderwala said at the time when industrial production needed to be boosted to help improve the economy, incidents like shutdown were acting as a serious deterrent for local as well as foreign investors. He said declining economic activities required immediate remedial steps by the government, adding the industrial zones lacked basic amenities such as water, power, gas, sewerage etc.
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