Government should lift ban on use of commercial explosives: PMOA

Ban on the use of commercial explosives is hitting textile, dying, processing, coal, salt, crushing stone, fertilisers, cement, glass, beverage, ceramics and soap industries hard. The government should lift ban on the use of commercial explosives otherwise, these industries would be bound to close their operations and thousands industrial workers would lose their jobs.
The PIAF Chairman, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, stated this while talking to a delegation of Pakistan Mine Owners Association (PMOA) headed by former LCCI Executive Committee Member Muhammad Riaz. He said that a foolproof system of check and balance could be put in place so that the explosives could be issued to only licensed lessees with a direction to submit periodical returns regarding the use of explosives.
Earlier, Muhammad Riaz told PIAF Chairman that the matter should be resolved on priority basis as the mining operations without availability of explosives will cause colossal loss to the mines and unemployment of huge strength of labour force.
He said that Gunpowder is a low density explosive and specifically used in salt mines for avoiding the shattering effect on the rock salt. Gunpowder has never been used for the nefarious moves by the terrorists. He said that there was always a complete record of the use of explosives, detonating cord maintained at the mines and was open for verification by the law enforcing agencies.
These practices henceforth are being tightened in consultation with the authorities concerned in order to have a foolproof system of checks and balances where the explosives received from the supply chain for use in mines, is consumed for the same purposes and the quality of comfort both at the management and government levels are improved.
He said that the major use of high explosives was in queries and such queries were being operated by the cement plants and the crushing units. The cement factories are organised and have in built system of high degree checks and balances being a bonded industry. The use of explosives to cement plants can further be reinforced by the concerned government authorities.