President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Muhammad Ishaq Butt has expressed deep concern over unscheduled electricity load shedding for more than 12 hours in Sialkot. Talking to Business Recorder here on Saturday afternoon he said that the load shedding and power failure had become order of the day which not only disturbed daily chore but also crippled production activities in this export-oriented city and hub of cottage industry of the country.
The officers of Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) had no satisfactory reply to queries on power outage informing that it was being done from Islamabad. The SCCI President stressed that export industry of Sialkot is badly hit by this unscheduled load shedding and power breakdown due to which the overall production for export orders, which are time bound is badly affected. Similarly, the domestic consumers were also facing nasty situation due to load shedding he said.
Muhammad Ishaq Butt said that industrialists in Sialkot were making strenuous efforts to promote exports, considering it a national cause but it is very shocking that Pepco is ignoring such an important industrial city where big and most modern export units are situated.
The soccer ball industry is badly hit by this sudden load shedding he pointed out. The SCCI President further stated that it regained some of the lost foreign orders through rigorous efforts by assuring the foreign customers of delivery in time. One reason of diversion of orders of soccer balls back to Sialkot is failure of India and China to fulfil the delivery schedule and lacking necessary capacity and capability, he disclosed.
The load shedding crisis is highly damaging for soccer ball industry as it would not be able to follow delivery schedule with the natural result of loosing big chance of recapturing the international market of soccer balls, he revealed.
A huge chance in the offing is in danger of going astray. The SCCI President demanded that President and Prime Minister may intervene and instruct Pepco to refrain from unscheduled load shedding by adhering to the schedule circulated by the concerned authorities as minimised load shedding in Sialkot so that export production may not be hampered.