KARACHI: Traders have shown a financial vulnerability to pay soaring electricity bills for being beyond their “paying powers”, saying that the mounting inflation has crippled their businesses.
They asked the government again to withdraw the fresh hike in petrol and electricity prices to help arrest the inflation that is rising like storm to hit businesses and consumers seriously.
A score of traders associations also asserted to continue their protest drive of “the livelihood protection movement” amid all-time high inflation after they held the first rally last Friday.
The next protests will be held on August 23 in Saddar and August 25 in Liaquatabad to continue pressing the government for taking back the inflationary hike in petrol and electricity prices.
During their last protest demonstration outside the Memon Masjid, Bolton Market, traders also announced to spread out their movement to other parts of the country to make their demands effective.
Rizwan Irfan, representing Karachi Electronics Dealers Association urged the government to withdraw the fresh hike.
President of All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industry, Karachi chapter, Mehmood Hamid rejected the mammoth rise in electricity tariffs by “200 percent” for the poor.
He said that the government made petrol and diesel prices by Rs 37.40 per liter in just 15 days. He said that the ruling class should adopt austerity and relinquish its luxurious lifestyle at the cost of poor nation.
Traders cannot bear the high cost of government’s luxuries, as there should be an end to free perks like Rs 200 billion of electricity and Rs 550 billion of fuel oil to the elite ruling class, he added.
Atiq Mir, Chairman All Karachi Tajir Ittehad slammed the government for its economic policies and rejected the fresh fuel oil and electricity prices hike. He said that crippling inflation will make traders’ survival hard.
President of Karachi City Tajir Ittehad Alliance, Sharjeel Goplani said that the small merchants are unable to pay their electricity bills since they have outgrown beyond their paying powers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.