LAHORE – A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday challenging gas load shedding for the industrial sector of Punjab and CNG stations, terming it disastrous for the economy.
Noshab A Khan advocate filed the petition arguing that gas shortages were being witnessed in Lahore since the last 10 days and both domestic and commercial users were facing problems in this regard.
The petitioner alleged that the federal government was discriminating against Punjab in gas load shedding owing to which, thousands of jobs were in danger. He submitted that Punjab’s gas requirement was 600MMCF but it was being provided only 180MMCF while gas supply from the Sui Northern Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) grid stations had also been suspended. Noshab said that 15 million people were associated with the industrial sector and gas load shedding would hit them badly.
The federation, petroleum and natural resources secretary and the SNGPL were made respondents in the petition. The petitioner alleged that most CNG stations in Lahore had been closed owing to gas load shedding and citizens, whose vehicles ran on CNG, were also suffering badly.
He submitted that factory owners had cancelled export orders worth billions of rupees owing to gas load shedding and his own car had become useless, as it only ran on CNG. Noshab requested the court to order immediate restoration of gas supply and seek a written reply from the respondents about gas shortage.
