SIALKOT, Oct 18 The daily 12 to 14 hours long electricity load-shedding was affecting working of more than 6,000 small and big industrial units in Sialkot, and this situation was rendering hundreds of daily wagers and industrial workers jobless.

Some leading industrialists and exporters said that Sialkot industries have been suffering financial losses worth millions of rupees daily due to daily 12 to 14 hours continuous load-shedding of electricity in Sialkot. They said that the energy crisis was aggravating day-by-day in Sialkot city, and production in export-oriented industries had been halted.

Moreover, Sialkot-based SMEs are unable to adopt alternative ways to get electricity. They said that industries were suffering and as exporters were unable to ensure timely dispatch of their consignments to their foreign destinations, buyers were also canceling orders and also diverting their business from Pakistan to China, India, Taiwan, Thailand and other countries.

They said that hundreds of the daily-wagers were being terminated from their jobs in Sialkot factories as there was no work due to non-availability of electricity.

BSF The Business Support Fund (BSF) would soon launch a mega project to provide skilled work-force to export-oriented industries of Sialkot, enabling them to enhance their industrial activities.

The BSF would hire skilled labour and work-force for factories in the city on their demand, besides providing them complete financial and technical support.

Officials said that Sialkot industries lack skilled labour and this programme would also be helpful in resolving the problems of SMEs.

The officials added that the Business Support Fund has allocated Rs50 million for promoting SMEs across the country. They revealed that the HR Plus programme for Sialkot's export-oriented industries would also promote country's value-added sector, besides exploring new international markets.