Owing to non-availability of electricity and gas the industrial units in Lahore Township Industrial Area (LTIA), are facing closure while thousands workers have already lost their jobs. Chairman Lahore Township Industrial Association (TIA) Chaudhry Zaheer Bhutta stated this while addressing at a meeting of industrialists here on Monday.
The business community has been staging strong protests against the massive loadshedding for the last many days, but neither the government nor the Pepco officials bothered to pay attention towards these issues. He said that the prime minister should take notice of the situation and order to end the menace of energy crisis.
The LCCI former President Mian Shafqat Ali, PIAF Vice Chairman Iqbal Baig Chugtai, LCCI former Senior Vice President Tahir Javed Malik, LTIA Vice Chairmen Shahzad Mughal, Khalid Chohan, former Chairman Nasrullah Mughal, Khawaja Shahzad Nasir, LCCI Executive Committee former members Malik Muhammad Abid and Khalid Riaz were also present on the occasion.
The meeting protested against the discriminatory attitude on the part of federal government and said despite the minimum line losses, Punjab is facing massive unscheduled loadshedding. The participants demanded of the government to stop favouritism and curtail loadshedding in Lahore like Karachi otherwise businessmen would be pushed to launch a series of non-stop protest.
The government should also curtail its expenditures and immediately pay dues to the IPPs so that electricity generation could be enhanced, they said. They also strongly criticised the anti-industry behaviour of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and said the SNGPL officials disconnecting the gas connection of the industrial units without prior intimation.