SIALKOT, Jan 19: As many as 52 surgical instruments manufacture units have closed after suspension of gas supply to these two weeks ago, a former representative of the industry said on Saturday.

As a result, Sialkot’s surgical industry is facing a severe financial crisis, Surgical Instruments Manufacturers Association former chairman Aamir Riaz Bhinder said.

He said the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited’s decision to suspend gas supply to these units was disastrous because the industry was already hit hard by the unscheduled power loadshedding. He said thousands of workers had become jobless after suspension of gas supply to these units and frequent power outages. He said that SNGPL suspended gas supply to these units without a prior notice.

An SNGPL official said supply to these units was suspended because of gas shortage and ‘very low pressure’, adding this situation would persist till the end of January.