SITE businessmen knock on CM’s door
Delegation complains about written and telephone kidnapping threats, snatchings, graffiti and robberies.
KARACHI:
Businessmen in SITE, fed up with violent harrassment went to the chief executive of the province to ask for protection on Saturday.
“We get around 15 to 20 complaints from our business community every day,” said Saeed Shafiq, who is the president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries. He told The Express Tribune that the criminals were so brazen that they were sending “extortion chits” to businessmen replete with their mobile phone numbers. The notes threaten them with dire consequences if they didn’t pay up.
A delegation led by Siraj Qasim Teli and Shafi met Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah at Chief Minister House. They complained about written and telephone kidnapping threats, snatchings, graffiti and robberies. There are roughly 400 factories in SITE.
“No one picks up an unknown number any more,” said Y Agha, a textile factory manager, while talking to The Express Tribune. He said that the extortion demands run from Rs50,000 a month to even one million rupees. Sometimes activists from one political party threaten the factory owner if he fires someone with their linguistic background. “Sometimes they demand we chuck out […]-speaking people,” he said.
“The problem is that the price of cotton recently went up,” Agha explained. It was Rs3,000 per 40 kg a few months ago and now is Rs7,500 per 40 kg. “There is cotton theft almost every other day,” he added. SITE just got a new TPO, SP Rao Iqbal, who when contacted for comment, said that he was assessing complaints.
The CM heard out the delegation and then asked DIG Operations (West) Sultan Ali Khwaja to provide industrialists and businessmen security and take action against extortionists. Shah said that additional force should be deputed in the area. There should be extra check posts and the entry and exit points should be monitored. He noted that industrialists were being harrassed by officials of the environment department. He told the provincial secretary of environment that no action should be taken without good reason.
The chief minister also told the SITE MD to fix roads. It was decided that a committee of industrialists and the SITE association would work with the DIG West and MD.
The meeting was attended by Adviser Rashid Rabbani, Special Assistant Waqar Mehdi, CCPO Fayaz Leghari, secretary industries sindh, secretary environment Mir Hussain Ali and others.
Abdul Majeed Haji Mohammed, a businessman and former president of the KCCI, told The Express Tribune that for the last six months the situation had worsened and people doing business in the area could not say no. “The collection of extortion depends on the nature of the business,” he said. “Around Rs10,000 from retailers and Rs50,000 to one million rupees are demanded from industrialists and traders.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2010.
Businessmen in SITE, fed up with violent harrassment went to the chief executive of the province to ask for protection on Saturday.
“We get around 15 to 20 complaints from our business community every day,” said Saeed Shafiq, who is the president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries. He told The Express Tribune that the criminals were so brazen that they were sending “extortion chits” to businessmen replete with their mobile phone numbers. The notes threaten them with dire consequences if they didn’t pay up.
A delegation led by Siraj Qasim Teli and Shafi met Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah at Chief Minister House. They complained about written and telephone kidnapping threats, snatchings, graffiti and robberies. There are roughly 400 factories in SITE.
“No one picks up an unknown number any more,” said Y Agha, a textile factory manager, while talking to The Express Tribune. He said that the extortion demands run from Rs50,000 a month to even one million rupees. Sometimes activists from one political party threaten the factory owner if he fires someone with their linguistic background. “Sometimes they demand we chuck out […]-speaking people,” he said.
“The problem is that the price of cotton recently went up,” Agha explained. It was Rs3,000 per 40 kg a few months ago and now is Rs7,500 per 40 kg. “There is cotton theft almost every other day,” he added. SITE just got a new TPO, SP Rao Iqbal, who when contacted for comment, said that he was assessing complaints.
The CM heard out the delegation and then asked DIG Operations (West) Sultan Ali Khwaja to provide industrialists and businessmen security and take action against extortionists. Shah said that additional force should be deputed in the area. There should be extra check posts and the entry and exit points should be monitored. He noted that industrialists were being harrassed by officials of the environment department. He told the provincial secretary of environment that no action should be taken without good reason.
The chief minister also told the SITE MD to fix roads. It was decided that a committee of industrialists and the SITE association would work with the DIG West and MD.
The meeting was attended by Adviser Rashid Rabbani, Special Assistant Waqar Mehdi, CCPO Fayaz Leghari, secretary industries sindh, secretary environment Mir Hussain Ali and others.
Abdul Majeed Haji Mohammed, a businessman and former president of the KCCI, told The Express Tribune that for the last six months the situation had worsened and people doing business in the area could not say no. “The collection of extortion depends on the nature of the business,” he said. “Around Rs10,000 from retailers and Rs50,000 to one million rupees are demanded from industrialists and traders.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2010.