LAHORE - The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while expressing deep concern over awful and continuous prolonged loadshedding, has demand of the government to ensure equitable power cuts in all parts of the country.

In a statement issued here Thursday, LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that only because of ongoing energy crisis the province of Punjab has lost

almost two per cent of its GDP which means a net loss of Rs 200 billion with a closure of 40 per cent of the industry while another 10 to 15 per cent are

on the verge of closure if the federal government fails to take immediate remedial measures.

The LCCI president said that it was unfair on the part of the government as the province of Punjab was being subjected to over 20 hours loadshedding

while in the other provinces are mostly enjoying uninterrupted power supply. Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the private sector is engine of the growth but it

would be unable to give desired results if it would not be provided an enabling environment.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that it was very strange and beyond the understanding of the business community that the government was unmoved despite

repeated LCCI appeals for equitable loadshedding across the country.  The LCCI President said that government would not be able to control the

situation triggered by power outages.

“How the government would establish its writ and from where it would collect revenues to run its day-to-day affairs when the industrial wheel is coming to

a grinding halt.”

The LCCI President said that the government should understand that economic well being is a must for democracy. Unemployment, price-hikes,

industrial closures always gives birth to lawlessness and anarchy. Therefore, the government should understand the ground realities and reset its

priorities regarding provision of electricity to the industry.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the industry needs continuous supply of electricity to keep the units operational and to complete the export orders well

within the given timeframe but only because of the shortage of electricity the exports are not up to the mark.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that Pakistan had already lost a number of global markets and the new power cuts would further aggravate the situation.

The LCCI President said that cheaper and uninterrupted power supply is only way to achieve economic targets set for the year 2012-13 but neither the

government is sharing its future plans to this regard nor paying any heed to the difficulties being faced by the trade and industry.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that it is astonishing that on the one hand the government circles were talking of economic stability in 2012 while on the other

hand they were not sharing any kind of roadmap to achieve this goal.

The LCCI President also feared a surge in street crimes, saying that law and order situation is bound to aggravate in the coming days as repeated power

outages in the industrial estates is jacking up the graph of unemployment particularly hitting the daily wagers hard.

Courtesy:  Nation