Daily Times

The government must ensure uninterrupted gas supply to the industrial sector to continue the current pace of production and exports after a long spell of coronavirus related lockdown and slump in the domestic as well as global markets, said Engineer Hafiz Ihtasham Javed, Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) president.

He was talking to Asad Umar, federal minister for planning, development, reforms and special initiatives, on telephone. He said that the textile processing sector cannot survive without gas which was being used for burners to dry the printed cloth. He said that some other industrial units use it for generating cheap electricity. He said that the government being an elder brother must facilitate all sectors instead of creating problems for them.

He said that the government should enhance gas supply through alternate resources so that the industrial sector could continue its operation without any hurdle. He said that during the shortage of electricity, the government had allowed the industrial sector to use gas for electricity generation through an unwritten agreement.

He said that the Government should regularize all such connections as captive power plants. He said that the industrial sector has gained momentum after laps of many years and if gas supply was disconnected, the industrial sector will be forced to close down its operation rendering millions of workers jobless. He hoped that the Government would soon resolve this issue up to the entire satisfaction of the industrial sector by rescinding the recent decision of the Cabinet Committee on Energy.