Daily Times

BUNER: The failure of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the industrial zones of Buner has forced several factory owners to close down some 25 units in the district, while others which are still functional faced to suffer losses up to Rs 100,000 per month. Among many other things, Buner district of the Malakand division is famous for its marble stone. The district produces 70 per cent of the country’s total marble production. As many as 500 marble factories are located in five different industrial zones of Buner with the biggest zone consisting of 93units.

The raw material for six different kinds of marbles to all factories is being provided from the mountains of Buner. The cheapest marble is called Sunny Grate and the most expensive Bamboo by the local people associated with the trade.

However, intense and unscheduled load shedding is forcing the owners of the production units to wind up their businesses. According to Nasir Ali, a businessman associated to marble trade for the last decade, said that the merciless and hours-long unannounced load shedding has forced them to close down the functional units in the area. He maintained they faced power outages for at least 15 hours on a daily basis. He added that they could not meet the demands received from the customers and “always fail to deliver on time.”

Khurshid Ali Khan, Processing and Mining Unit president in Buner lamented the behaviour of the government towards them instead of facilitating the factory owners to boost the production of marble. He added, “We are neither provided any soft interest loans nor any other benefits terming the power outages as icing on the cake.”

He emphasized that Buner industrial zones have the potential to contribute a great deal to the country’s economy. On the other hand, the closure of factories would add to the instability of the economy, Khan said.

At least, 300,000 labourers across the district are associated to the marble factories business earning bread and butter for their families.

Abid Khan, a labourer, who spent the golden years of the youth working at a marble factory, said, “The closure of factories would bring devastation in the labourers’ community.” He maintained it would be difficult for them to support their families if the factories kept closing down one by one.

The loadshedding has already started taking its toll on our earnings and livelihood as they faced a cut in their salaries and wages due to the power breakdowns. Afghanistan was a lucrative and promising international market for the marble business but trade was adversely affected due to the recent armed clashes between the neighbouring countries recently.