If government cannot provide gas and electricity then it should announce forced closure of industry
FAISALABAD: More than fifty percent value-added textile units have been closed and the remaining ones are running only with 30 to 40 percent of production capacity, said Rana Alraf Ahmad, senior vice chairman (SVC) Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMEA-North Zone).
He said that it was a sheer negligence on the part of the government that industrial sector was not getting sufficient gas and electricity even in the summer.
“Most of units have been closed down while remaining ones are forced to trim their production due to the limited availability of gas and electricity,” He said, adding that some units have switched to costly alternative energy that was not only fomenting environmental problems but was also increasing their cost of production.
He said that the government should take necessary steps to overcome the expected severe shortage of gas and electricity in the upcoming winter.
“If [the] government cannot provide gas and electricity then it should announce a forced closure of industry,” he said and added that PHMEA was starting meetings with gas- and electricity-related ministries to press them to take necessary measures.
He warned that if the government failed to play its role, the factories would be closed down depriving Pakistan of precious foreign exchange in addition to opening the floodgates of unemployment.
