OUR STAFF REPORTER LAHORE The business community and the manufacturers while criticising the massive increase of Rs3.4 per unit in electricity tariff in the name of fuel adjustment, said that it is not only anti-industry decision but it is anti-masses as well. They said that bulk increase will also give a bad name to the government therefore the government should withdraw it immediately. They said that huge capital worth Rs.180 billion has already been shifted to only Malaysia during the last eight years. They said that the recent hike in power tariff is bound to further jack-up the manufacturing cost of Pakistani merchandise and resultantly the country would become a trading hub. They said that instead of increasing power tariff, the government should concentrate on cheaper means of power generation including coal-based power generation houses and through furnace oil. They said that Kalabagh dam was the most excellent solution of the power crisis but present regime shelved the project with a one stroke of pen. They said that Pakistan could generate thousands megawatt electricity through coal and other alternate resources. Only Sindh has 185 billion tone reserves of coal but government is spending $ 13 billion annually on the import of oil and generating electricity thorugh costly furnace oil operated power plants. They said that it could be eye-opener for the people sitting on the helm of affairs that Bangladesh is generating sufficient solar electricity and providing to more than one million houses while situation in Pakistan is quite vice versa. They also urged to government to curtail power theft and make the system more efficient. They said that the traders and industrialists would be left with no other option but to close down their units. The industry leaders suggested to the government to minimize the administrative cost of the power generation agency that is an undue burden on the consumers therefore this should be controlled on emergent basis. Chairman Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) Sohail Lashari, Chairman Auto Parts Manufacturers & Exporters Association Tahir Javed Malik and Chairman Lahore Township Industries Association (LTIA) Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry said that they had already conveyed to the government that the country would become a trading hub if appropriate measures to ensure proper supply of electricity to the industry are not taken. They said that energy was a main source of development and electricity prices were highly correlated to the economic growth and increase in electricity tariff would destroy everything. They said that country was facing a huge energy deficit since last few years. Massive loadshedding had crippled the industrial activities, thousands industrial units had closed down or relocated while million industrial workers have lost their jobs but despite initiate any mega power projects, government remained busy to suck the blood of nation. They said that said that electricity rates in Pakistan were already very high and posing massive challenges to make the industry internationally competitive. They said that with the increase in electricity tariff, industrial production cost would further rise and export oriented industries would face more difficulties to compete in the international market with competitors like China, India and Bangladesh who were caring their industries like beloved kids. They said that electricity prices rise would badly affect the agriculture sector of Pakistan, which was backbone of our economy and feeding to more than 70% of the population. They said that despite cutting-off lavish expenditure, government continuously increasing the energy prices, which have touched the alarming situation but government was not showing sympathy with the Pakistani people and planned to put more fuel on fire. The hike in electricity prices would lead trade, industry and common man towards the destruction, they added.