The Lahore Township Industries Association (LTIA) has decided to launch a series of protests against massive scheduled and unscheduled power outages. Initially, a complete strike would be observed in the LTIA on April 26. In subsequent protests, around 40 thousand industrialists and industrial workers would take to the streets against PEPCO authorities.
In a press statement issued here on Saturday, the Lahore Township Industries Association Chairman Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry said that there would be no work in the entire industrial estate, as all 400 units would be closed down and their workers would be on the roads on April 26. He said that indifferent attitude of PEPCO authorities towards the industrial sector has pushed it to the wall and a large number of industrialists had already closed down their businesses.
It was unfortunate that the Director General of PEPCO could not keep up to his promise regarding an end to unannounced load-shedding, he grieved. He said that the PEPCO DG had assured that unannounced power outage in the Lahore Township Industrial Area would end, but the situation had remained the same, forcing the business community to opt for the extreme step.
Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry said that PEPCO authorities had been frequently informed of the industry problems caused by the unavailability of power. However, they did not respond and industrialists have decided to register their protest.
He underlined that the government would have take measures to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to the industry, as the recent energy crisis has left hundreds of industrialists with no option but to close down their units. He added that the economy would fail to get back on rails if some relief package was not announced. The LTIA chairman also appealed to the Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani to issue necessary directions and to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the LTIA and other industrial areas of the city.
