The traders slammed the poor performance of CDA, IESCO and SNGPL as these entities were not paying due attention to resolve the key issues of the trading community due to which they were facing many problems.
The newly elected office-bearers and executive members of Traders Welfare Association, Jinnah Super Market, Islamabad led by its President Qazi Muhammad Ilyas visited Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a press release issued on Saturday.
While highlighting the issues of Jinnah Super Market traders, Qazi said that in case any transformer developed a fault, IESCO used to ask traders to pay charges ranging from Rs 0.4 million to Rs 1 million for the repair of faulty transformer. He said traders were being forced to pay charges even for faulty electricity cables which were totally unjustified as it was the responsibility of IESCO to manage the repair and maintenance of its transformers and cables network.
He said street lights of Jinnah Super Market were not functioning and CDA was paying no attention to set them right. Similarly, the condition of other civic amenities in the said market was very unsatisfactory due to the negligence of CDA. He said CDA and SNGPL used to dig areas in Jinnah Super for laying pipelines, but such dug up areas were not filled for days and months causing great inconvenience to the traders as well as the customers. He stressed that utility service providers should adopt a proactive approach in resolving issues and facilitating the growth of business activities.
ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh assured the delegation of Jinnah Super Market that ICCI will highlight their issues at all relevant forums for their urgent redress. He said IESCO Chief Executive and General Manager SNGPL would be invited to ICCI to discuss issues of traders for finding out their optimum solutions. He said a comprehensive strategy will be chalked out in consultation with market associations for dealing with CDA as the non-cooperative approach of the civic body in addressing issues of the business community was a major hurdle in a smooth promotion of business activities in the region.
ICCI Vice President Sheikh Abdul Waheed, Founder Group Chairman Khalid Javed, ICCI senior member Khalid Iqbal Malik, former presidents ICCI Mian Akram Farid and Muhammad Ejaz Abbasi, TWA General Secretary Jinnah Super Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, TWA Jinnah Super Vice President Rana Shahid and others also spoke on the occasion and stressed that CDA, IESCO, SNGPL and FBR should play a positive role to facilitate the growth of business activities.
