Punjab industries: government decision to increase gas supply felicitated

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday welcomed Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr Asim Hussain's decision to increase supply of gas to the industry in the province up to four days per week from the existing two-day within next 10 days.
The decision to increase gas supply to the industry was taken at a meeting at Chief Minister's House late Thursday night. Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, MNA Pervaiz Malik, LCCI president, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh and Aptma office-bearers were the participants of this meeting of national importance.
The CM, on the occasion, also constituted a special committee under the chairmanship of MNA Pervaiz Malik to liase with Federal Minister for Petroleum over the supply of gas to the industry. Earlier, Irfan Sheikh, representing all chambers of commerce and industry in Punjab gave a detailed briefing to the minister and CM Punjab over the gas situation and the problems being faced by the trade and industry over energy shortage. He said that gas closure to industry had put the jobs of over 15 million people and exports of around $14 billion at stake.
"The rise in number of unemployed was giving air to anti-government sentiments and this single step had thrown millions of daily wage industrial workers out of jobs." "It is not the industry only that was suffering massively but the government was also a loser on many counts," he remarked. There is a global phenomenon that industry is given top priority whereas in Pakistan it comes to the least and other sectors are given priority, he told the minister. He stressed the need for getting replaced obsolete gas geysers and heaters with latest solar geysers and heaters to ensure gas to the industry.
He said that around 40 percent of the industrial units in Punjab run on gas and suspension means no production by almost half of the industry and a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer. The 'discriminatory attitude' of the government was not only denting its goodwill and reputation but had also put a question mark on its ability to manage and govern things. "It was a death knell for export-based industry and productivity" he maintained.