COVID-19: Industrialists ask government to save industries also from disaster
KARACHI: Capt. A Moiz Khan, patron in chief of North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (NKATI) and president, Naseem Akhtar, praised Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah’s vision and actions to control the coronavirus and assured to supporting by business community, but also appealed to pay attention on the ongoing economic crisis in the country.
In an emergency meeting, NKATI leaders said that on the one hand, the coronavirus bomb is destroying industrial and commercial activities while on the other hand, utilities service providers especially K-Electric is on the verge of destroy the industries.
NKATI leaders said that the cost of production had already increased due to the tax slabs, high rates, so export oriented industries are facing problems in completion of foreign orders.
“We are also losing ability to compete with the neighboring countries”, they said.
They added that Syed Murad Ali Shah has taken satisfactory but hard steps to prevent coronavirus even though our country cannot afford such measures, because in our country mostly people earn on daily basis, so some measures also need to be devised to protect the masses from being affected economically.
NKATI leaders further said that in the present scenario, the government is increasing the problems for the industrialists rather than providing facilities, the latest example of which is to withdraw the discounted electricity tariff offered under the Industrial Support Program.
They pointed out that after withdrawing subsidized tariff under industrial support program, K-Electric has sent 3-year supplementary bills to industries and it seems that K-Electric wants to push the industries to the brink of collapse.
Capt. A Moiz Khan and Naseem Akhtar demanded the Prime Minister Imran Khan to restore subsidized tariff under industrial support program for saving the industries from destruction and withdraw supplementary bills sent to the industries
NKATI leaders also requested to extend due date of utility bills by one month.
