LAHORE – The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has announced to halt gas supply to the industries across Punjab for five days amid closure of Sawan Gas Field due to a technical fault.
The gas utility has already suspended gas supply to Faisalabad region industries, comprising half of the province, while it stopped the supply to rest of Punjab including Lahore and Sheikhupura on Saturday.
The suspension of gas has been done for load management programme from Saturday to Wednesday. Industry representatives said that thousands of the daily wagers suffer as they cannot earn livelihood due to the problem, demanding smooth supply of gas to the industries.
Acting Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Punjab Mahmood Ihsan has expressed concerns over unilateral gas supply cut to textile industry within two and a half days of the issuance of four days a week supply schedule. This sudden and surprised change of gas supply schedule by the SNGPL is highly unfair and anti-industry decision, as it has hit the industrial capacity of meeting export orders, as one day cut in gas supply would leave the industry with no option but to close down one shift. Resultantly, the export commitments would be dishonoured that that would earn bad name for the country. Also, closing down of a shift would render thousand of textile workers jobless in a situation when the poverty is already plaguing the working class terribly.
Acting chairman APTMA said energy supply is an utmost need of the hour and the industry was quite satisfied with four days a week gas supply arrangement by the SNGPL in Lahore and Sheikhupura regions. However, a sudden change in distribution plan has put industry into a troublesome situation, as all production plans are jeopardized.
He has urged the President, Prime Minister of Pakistan and Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr. Asim Hussain to intervene immediately and direct the SNGPL to revert to four days a week gas supply to facilitate the textile industry in processing export orders.