Business

SITE businesses protest to ‘save industry’

Association chief says low pressure halts production.

Our Correspondent February 13, 2015 1 min read

The industrialists said gas pressure has been considerably low for the past two days, which has halted work at factories. CREATIVE COMMONS

KARACHI: The industrialists of the SITE Association of Industry (SAI) – one of the biggest industrial zones in Karachi – staged a protest on Friday near the Governor House against unavailability of gas to the industries.

The protesters, led by SAI President Jawed Bilwani, were holding black flags and placards, urging the government to resume gas supply.

The industrialists said gas pressure has been considerably low for the past two days, which has halted work at factories. The gas supply was reduced to just 13 days in January and 46 days since October 1, 2014, lamented Bilwani.

“With the low gas pressure, it is impossible for the industries to run their production. Labourers are sitting idle, which is a heavy burden on the owners of the factories,” he said.

“Resultantly, factories are failing to meet their export commitments on time.”

They are unable to meet the deadlines of dispatching consignments that is resulting in colossal losses to the industries. He accused Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) of allowing CNG stations to take gas from old pipelines that actually created the shortfall of the commodity for the businesses.

He demanded dedicated distribution pipelines to supply gas to the industries in SAI that should be separated from other consumers.

He wondered how SSGC gave permission to as many as 34 CNG stations in the SITE Industrial Area. These stations are too close to the industries and they did not maintain the mandatory distance from the industries required under the law. This is resulting in lowering the gas pressure to industries and other consumers.

The industries in the area include 100% export-oriented businesses that are earning huge amounts of foreign exchange for the country. Bilwani expressed fear that if the current gas shortages continue, the country will see mass closure of factories and further flight of capital in the near future.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2015.

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