Gas supply to industrial units in Faisalabad region remained suspended on second consecutive day on Monday, in accordance with the gas load management (GLM) schedule, resulting in tough financial challenge for daily wagers having no alternative for supporting their families.
According to the new GLM schedule issued from SNGPL, gas supply to industrial units in Faisalabad would remain on halt for four days (from January 30 to February 2). Over 100,000 power looms remained closed for last five weeks due to severe financial crisis.
Following the schedule of gas load shedding of four or six days, the export production activities in textile units once again have come to complete standstill, said Abdul Qayyum, Chairman of Pakistan Labour Qaumi Movement. He said that about 400,000 labourers, most of them daily wagers, have suffered from load shedding of electricity and gas and they have been left penniless, struggling to generate income from other ways in Faisalabad and Sargodha Divisions.
Talking to newsmen, Salamat Ali, Chairman of Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) North Zone, said that Pakistan's economy is heavily dependent on textile sector, which is not only the largest job providing industrial sector but has also been contributing maximum share in exports, which remained around 60 percent over the years. The country's textile sector was already frustrated with the high mark-up rates of banks plus current financial crisis and inflation rate of the country.
Textile sector is already facing worst ever energy crises, he said, adding that industrialists are not in a position to meet unfavourable business circumstances. He said that the gas suspension plan would have a very negative impact on entire industrial sector of Punjab that was already passing through very challenging times due to acute shortage of electricity and bad of law and order situation.
Salamat said that not only the exports and productions would nose-dive but the graph of unemployment would also go up as a large number of industrial units would be left with no other option but to close down their operations if gas suspension plan is not shelved. "How the industry would be able to manage export orders worth millions of dollars when there is no gas? What about the thousands of daily wagers who have a single source of income?" And above all, he added, "how the government would convince both local and foreign investors to invest when it is unable to manage the supply of gas to existing industrial units?"
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