Power loadshedding hits business activities badly

The government has failed to fulfil the promises to end power load-shedding, as the people are still facing massive problems owing to the prolonged and unannounced power outages in the most areas of Central Punjab amidst acute cold weather and grip of fog.
The power outages have badly affected the business activities in the industrial city, most of the powerlooms units, hosieries and other small scale industries have been closed, while thousands workers waiting power for gaining their livelihood.
The span of load shedding has been widened from 10 hours to 16 hours extremely racking the citizens in all in Jhang, Toba Tek Singh, Gojra, Chiniot, Jaranwala, Khurrianwala, Pir Mahal, Shorkot and other twons and cities, which has dealt a heavy blow to commercial activities there.
The agriculture is also being adversely impacted owing to the closure of tube wells and other agricultural equipment especially at requirement of first water to recently sown wheat. Thousands of daily wagers and labourers have been forced out of jobs owing to the persisting load shedding-spawned problems.
President FCCI Sheikh Abdul Qayyum, while expressing his views over the severe short fall of gas and electricity, said that the prevalent energy crisis is getting on the nerves of industrial community of Faisalabad. Whereby, time and again, the federal government is putting additional burden on business community by raising electricity and gas tariff, which has increased cost of doing industrial business.
He further disclosed that federal cabinet had decided to observe the gas load shedding for two days per week and the federal minister for water and power announced publicly that there will be no more load shedding by the end of 2009. Furthermore, it had been announced in the textile policy that an uninterrupted supply of electricity and gas would be provided to the textile sector.
But regretfully, none of relieves has been provided to the industrial community. He further said that the shortfall of gas and electricity had forced the industrialists to shut down their units, resultantly hundred thousand of labour/workers have become jobless.
In addition the textile associations are also protesting for the same cause. President FCCI said that the FCCI had numerously requested the economic managers and government functionaries to probe into the matter seriously. But the response from there side is still awaited.
He stressed the federal government to decide whether to watch the interest of IMF agenda or to provide relief to the industrial community of the motherland. He assured the textile associations of Faisalabad that the FCCI as a representative of all the trade associations would raise their voice from FCCI platform.