20 hours' long power outages make life miserable in Faisalabad

Scorching sun, drenching heat and blazing breeze coupled with excruciating power outages for 20 hours made life unbearable in the industrial city. The sun shone with all its strength to make it the hottest day on Sunday, so far pushing the mercury up to 46 degree Celsius. The streets and roads gave a deserted look with thin traffic, while in the most of the areas of the city remained without power.
The leaders of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association, All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association (APCPA), Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association, North Zone, Anjuman Tajran and Textile Exporters have strongly criticised the massive power loadshedding of 18 to 20 hours on daily basis coupled with four days a week gas suspension that has brought the industrial wheel to a halt and industrial productions have nose-dived to alarmingly low levels.
Ajmal Farooq, Central Chairman APTPMA and Rizwan Ashraf, Regional Chairman APTPMA Faisalabad Region, All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA) have expressed grave concerns over the poor response of the government towards unprecedented energy shortage for the textile industry. They mentioned that industrialists and textile exporters have knocked every door for the provision of gas and electricity to the industrial sector but unfortunately there is no let up in the gas and power outages. Electricity loadshedding was not only depriving the industrial workers of their livelihood but also causing considerable financial loss to the industry as a whole. 20 hours power cuts has brought the industrial wheel to a halt as the industry needs regular supply of electricity to complete production processes but the people sitting at helm are least concerned about it, they added.
Rana Akhlaq Ahmad, Chairman and Choudhry Nawaz Vice Chairman, All Pakistan Cotton Powerlooms Association (APCPA) feared that if the prevailing situation was not controlled, nobody would be able to keep industrial workers from massive protests and demonstrations.