Two days of gas: Industries end protest
Four-hour dharna ends after governor repeats offer made by federal govt on Friday.
LAHORE:
Thousands of industrial labourers and trade leaders held a four-hour protest here on Saturday before accepting a government offer for gas supply to industries of two days a week.
The protesters included representatives of all 17 chambers of commerce and industry in Punjab, the Anjuman-i-Tajiran Paksitan, the Qaumi Tahjir Ittehad Pakistan and sector-specific associations. They began gathering by the truck-load at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 1pm and later marched towards Governor’s House.
They carried banners and placards and shouted slogans demanding that Punjab’s industries get a greater share of the country’s natural gas resources. ‘We reject discrimination against Punjab in supply of gas,’ ‘We reject fast increasing unemployment,’ and ‘Save our jobs, save our children’, they chanted. They also blocked the road with burning tyres. Trade leaders made speeches critical of both the federal and the Punjab government.
The protests ended after Governor Sardar Latif Khosa pledged that factories in the province will get gas two days a week. Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain had offered them the same deal on Friday – restoration of 300 million million cubic feet of supply for two days a week – after talks with industrial and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline representatives. However, the industrial reps had refused to cancel their protest, saying they did not think the minister’s offer reliable.
Addressing the protestors during Saturday’s ‘dharna’, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that protests would continue till the restoration of full gas supply. He urged the government to stop issuing new gas connections, implement a fair and equitable schedule of gas supply outages across the country, and waive the interest on unpaid gas bills for the period when industries were not getting gas.
He said the government needed to reconsider its priorities when it came to gas consumers, as suspending the supply to industries had meant thousands of daily wagers losing their ‘jobs’. The suspension had also led to the closure or partial closure of some factories.
“The economy appears to be this government’s lowest priority,” said Sheikh. “Their lack of seriousness is giving birth to a number of social problems and if the situation remains the same it could also create law and order problems in the province.”
Pakistan Industrial and Trade Associations Front (PIAF) Chairman Sohail Lashari said that gas was available in Pakistan and an artificial shortage had been created, “perhaps like the electricity problem was created so they could make huge investments in IPPs [independent power producers]”. He said that the protestors should not negotiate with anyone except the prime minister or the president. He said traders and industrialists were being “economically murdered”.
Ashraf Bhatti of Anjuman-i-Tajiran Lahore said traders would hold a shutter-down strike to express solidarity with the industries. He said that such strikes would also be held in the other provinces.
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Muzammil Sultan said that the Punjab was being treated like an “untouchable”.
Sialkot Chamber President Naeem Anwar Qureshi said that the government had forced the industries to come onto the streets. He said cities like Sialkot that generated a lot of revenue should get more gas.
Gujranwala Chamber President Malik Zaheer said that the government’s incompetence had led to an 18 per cent devaluation of the rupee. He said that more than $4 billion (Rs362 billion) worth of electricity and gas was stolen each year in Pakistan. Gujranwala, he said, accounted for Rs10 million of these losses.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2012.
Thousands of industrial labourers and trade leaders held a four-hour protest here on Saturday before accepting a government offer for gas supply to industries of two days a week.
The protesters included representatives of all 17 chambers of commerce and industry in Punjab, the Anjuman-i-Tajiran Paksitan, the Qaumi Tahjir Ittehad Pakistan and sector-specific associations. They began gathering by the truck-load at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry at 1pm and later marched towards Governor’s House.
They carried banners and placards and shouted slogans demanding that Punjab’s industries get a greater share of the country’s natural gas resources. ‘We reject discrimination against Punjab in supply of gas,’ ‘We reject fast increasing unemployment,’ and ‘Save our jobs, save our children’, they chanted. They also blocked the road with burning tyres. Trade leaders made speeches critical of both the federal and the Punjab government.
The protests ended after Governor Sardar Latif Khosa pledged that factories in the province will get gas two days a week. Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain had offered them the same deal on Friday – restoration of 300 million million cubic feet of supply for two days a week – after talks with industrial and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline representatives. However, the industrial reps had refused to cancel their protest, saying they did not think the minister’s offer reliable.
Addressing the protestors during Saturday’s ‘dharna’, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that protests would continue till the restoration of full gas supply. He urged the government to stop issuing new gas connections, implement a fair and equitable schedule of gas supply outages across the country, and waive the interest on unpaid gas bills for the period when industries were not getting gas.
He said the government needed to reconsider its priorities when it came to gas consumers, as suspending the supply to industries had meant thousands of daily wagers losing their ‘jobs’. The suspension had also led to the closure or partial closure of some factories.
“The economy appears to be this government’s lowest priority,” said Sheikh. “Their lack of seriousness is giving birth to a number of social problems and if the situation remains the same it could also create law and order problems in the province.”
Pakistan Industrial and Trade Associations Front (PIAF) Chairman Sohail Lashari said that gas was available in Pakistan and an artificial shortage had been created, “perhaps like the electricity problem was created so they could make huge investments in IPPs [independent power producers]”. He said that the protestors should not negotiate with anyone except the prime minister or the president. He said traders and industrialists were being “economically murdered”.
Ashraf Bhatti of Anjuman-i-Tajiran Lahore said traders would hold a shutter-down strike to express solidarity with the industries. He said that such strikes would also be held in the other provinces.
Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Muzammil Sultan said that the Punjab was being treated like an “untouchable”.
Sialkot Chamber President Naeem Anwar Qureshi said that the government had forced the industries to come onto the streets. He said cities like Sialkot that generated a lot of revenue should get more gas.
Gujranwala Chamber President Malik Zaheer said that the government’s incompetence had led to an 18 per cent devaluation of the rupee. He said that more than $4 billion (Rs362 billion) worth of electricity and gas was stolen each year in Pakistan. Gujranwala, he said, accounted for Rs10 million of these losses.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2012.