LAHORE - As the domestic sector is suffering power breakdowns of up to 20 hours a day, the electricity loadshdding duration for the industry in Punjab has also been increased from 8 hours to 10 hours by the power distribution companies. As a result, textile mills on independent feeders are being hit hard, as these units have been forced to close down two shifts and lay off a large part of workforce.
APTMA Chairman SM Tanveer said that the Punjab textile workers are highly perturbed and the millers are trying to appease them with repeated promises of negotiating with the government for full energy supply soon. He said that supply chain to value added textile industry has been seriously disrupted; a situation affecting negatively on the country’s exports.
He said the Ministry of Water & Power and DISCOs were flouting the clear-cut directions of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for zero load shedding for Punjab-based textile industry.
He deplored short sightedness of the Ministry of Water & Power for not facilitating the any advantage to be reaped in shape of enhanced exports. Punjab-based textile industry. On the other hand, as European Union has extended GSP Plus facility to Pakistan’s textile exports, the present energy crunch will not allow.
According to him, both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister Punjab have supported continuous operations of the Punjab-based textile mills on the special insistence of the Minister of Textile Industry, Mr. Abbas Khan Afridi. However, it seems that some ministries have adopted hostile attitude towards the Punjab mills, leaving them in a lurch and with no option but to close down two shifts due to the inordinate increase in industrial load shedding.
Chairman APTMA has appealed to both the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to intervene immediately and take the responsible ones to the task for not supplying the promised energy to the Punjab-based textile industry. He further said that the present energy constraints are a conspiracy against the Punjab based textile industry.
He said that in case, immediate correction of the situation is not taken-up by the relevant Ministry, Punjab industry would simply shut leading to huge unemployment in the Province.