KARACHI, May 2: Production in three main industrial enclaves in and around the city is estimated to have come down by at least 50 per cent on Thursday because of the strike call given by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) to protest against the murder of two former legislators.
Only Korangi industrial area proved to be an exceptional case where industrial output remained normal, thanks to the presence of a large number of workers who live in nearby colonies.
The chairman, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), Farhan-ur-Rahman told Dawn that industrial activities in almost all the units were recorded as usual as workers usually live in nearby colonies. Only clerical staff could not reach their respective industries.
Karachi contributes almost 30 per cent of the industrial production and almost 70 per cent of the service sector in the gross domestic production (GDP).
Industrialists said that the entire labour force of the first shift in mornings (starting from 7.00 a.m. till evening) could not reach the industries in the absence of public and private transports in the early hours. Transporters brought out their vehicles after 2 p.m.
They said they could not even hold back some staffers and work force a day ahead of the strike call as May 1 was public holiday. On April 30, industrialists were busy in presidential referendum.
On the other hand, business activities came to a grinding halt as all the leading markets like Saddar, Jodia Bazar, Marriott Road, Empress Market, Water Pump, Karimabad, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jama Cloth, Boulton Market, bullion markets, furniture markets and Kharadar remained shut throughout the day. Workers and staffers, who usually use public and private transport, opted to stay at home, and only those, having their own transport, managed to reach their offices.
Supplies of finished products to the market from the industries remained suspended the entire day.
Ex-Chairman Site Association of Industries, Zubair Motiwalla said that over 50 per cent of production had been hit on Thursday due to absence of workers and staffers and even many of the factories out of 2,200 units in SITE areas were remained shut.
He said the main sufferers of the strike were daily wagers as industries had hardly run to the optimum level since April 30.
Ex-chairman, North Karachi Association of Trade and Industries (NKATI), Mehmood A. Rangoonwala said that production in over 1,800 industries in North Karachi area had declined by over 50 per cent on Thursday as labour force could not turn up to their jobs.
Patron-in-chief, NKATI, Capt Moiz Khan said that bomb blasts incidents will make foreign buyers reluctant to visit Karachi.
Vice Chairman, F.B. Area Association of Trade and Industry (FBAATI), Farooq Bakali said that production activities in all industries caved in by over 50 per cent in over 1,500 industries in the area.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) had also felt a slight pinch of strike as its 100 share index closed down 3.29 points or 0.17 per cent at 1,895.66.
EXPORT NORMAL: The processing of shipping bills in two main customs departments remained unaffected, which showed that the exporters had made some standby arrangements on Wednesday’s night to bring the cargo at the port.
Sources in Export Examination Department of Customs, East Wharf said over 160 shipping bills were processed on Thursday which was a routine processing as daily around 150-200 documents are processed.
The real impact of the strike could be known on Friday as the cargo, carried by transporters to the port remained thin, the sources said.
An official in Export Examination Department of Customs, West Wharf said that as per normal day, around 430 shipping bills were processed on Thursday.
On the import side, a senior official in Appraisement Collectorate said that the Customs collected Rs70 million on Thursday in terms of import duty, which can be termed as normal collection as far as early days or first days collection of the month is concerned. Usually the Collectorate collects Rs120-130 million a day in normal days. “There was not any drastic impact of the strike,” the official added.
