The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has demanded of the sui gas authorities to end gas load management as early as possible because the weather change has curtailed the domestic consumption of gas and there was no point in gas load shedding.
The PIAF Chairman, Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, in a statement issued here Wednesday, said that sui gas authorities had promised to end gas load shedding by the first week of March, but unfortunately gas load management was going on and the entire industry was suffering. He said that that Managing Director Sui Gas announcement to end the gas load shedding in next winter was a good omen for the industry, but gas load management should also be done away with.
He said that load management formula was evolved keeping in view the winter season when the gas pressure was lower due to high consumption and Sui Gas department had promised to ensure regular supply of gas in the first week of March, but load management is still continued. He said that gas supply to the CNG stations and fertiliser industry on priority basis at the cost of other industry was not a friendly decision.
Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said industry was already facing huge crisis and gas load management is further adding to the miseries of the industrial sector. He said that gas load shedding was particularly hitting very hard to the textile, dying, knitting, food processing, chemicals, paper & board, ghee and many other industries.
He said that gas load management and increase in tariff have been paralysed the industrial sector and it seems that government would not be able to meet export target set for the financial year 2009-10. He said that textile sector not only contributing more than 65 percent in exports, but also providing employment to near one million workers.