Govt to hunt for alternative energy resources: Md Ali Mian

Lahore: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries President, Mohammad Ali Mian expressing concern over the growing energy crisis in the country has urged the government to hunt for alternative energy resources to keep the industry running.

Mian said on Monday that electricity was the basic raw material for a large industrial segment and in the face of the rising oil prices in international market it would be impossible for the government to continue feeding the industry with thermal power. He suggested it would be wiser to evolve a short-term strategy after the government consulted the private sector to use other energy resources.

He said that the industry was suffering heavily in winter because of gas shortages and now facing the power crisis crippling it. 'All long-term projects will take at least eight to 10 years to complete and there is no short-term project, which will be able to start power generation before two years,' he said. 'In two years' time, the whole economy will face a meltdown and its turnaround will be impossible. So this is the time that the government constituted a high-level committee made up of public and private sector members to cope with the situation,' he added.

Mian also urged the government to finalise the Pak-Iran gas pipeline deal to help run power-generating units at cheaper rates as compared to those of furnace oil. He said the private sector was unable to understand that why it was not being taken into confidence when the demand and supply gap was widening and that why the domestic consumer was being given priority over the industrial consumer.

He claimed that India was waging a 'water war' against Pakistan by building several dams making Pakistan unable able to have water for irrigation. He said the power breakdowns would be more than six hours in the coming days.