HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry has warned that federal government’s current gas policy and industries cannot go hand in hand and demanded the prime minister urgently resolve the chronic issue of acute shortage of gas and low pressure in industrial zones of Sindh.

The chamber’s president Mohammad Farooq Shaikhani said in a letter to Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar on Tuesday that it had become impossible to run sectors like textile, leather, confectionary, iron, bangle and beverages etc as a direct consequence of increase in gas prices over the past 12 months.

These units were now forced to cut jobs to control their cost of production, leading to a new wave of unemployment, he said, adding he had no qualms about the current gas policy’s being detrimental to industries.

He said that inadequate gas supply had severely affected industrial and commercial activities. It was crucial to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas and curb its increasing prices to run and sustain industrial operations, he said.

He lamented that the formula for gas distribution among provinces was in conflict with Article 158 of the Constitution whereas historical violations of the distribution of gas produced by Marri fields and new wells were exacerbating the crisis, forcing Sindh to buy Liquefied Natural Gas to meet its needs.

He appealed to prime minister and interim minister for petroleum, gas and energy Mohammad Ali to overcome to ensure uninterrupted gas supply to Sindh’s industrial zones to help sustain commercial activities and boost foreign reserves.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2023