The uncontrolled power outages in Sialkot have badly affected as many as 90 percent industrial production in Sialkot , besides, causing a great financial loss of Rs. 1 billion daily to Sialkot industries. Daily 20 hours long power outages have crippled the surgical industry of Sialkot, which have become on the verge of collapse, as this nasty situation had become unbearable for the Sialkot business community.
Muhammad Jehangeer Bajwa (Chairman Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association of Pakistan-SIMAP) stated this while talking to the newsmen here today.
He said that despite the repeated appeals made by the Sialkot business community, the Gepco has not yet given any relief to the perturbed exporters and traders of Sialkot, as the energy crisis aggregating day by day in Sialkot due to which the industrial wheel has become completely jammed here. This situation (increased power outages) was causing daily Rs. 1 billion great financial loss to Sialkot industries, which should also be a point of grave concern for every one, they added.
He expressed grave concern over this worst situation. He demanded early exemption of Sialkot from power outages following its global industrial and economical significance to save the Sialkot industries from collapse. He asked the Gepco to also announce a schedule of load shedding for the Sialkot industries.
SIMAP Chairman Muhammad Jehangeer Bajwa said that the hundreds of the small industrial surgical forging and manufacturing units in and around the Sialkot city had already been closed by the owners due to the non-availability of the electricity or the other resources of alternative energy. He said that the hundreds of the thousands of the industrial workers have already been rendered jobless due to power outages, in this regard.
