HYDERABAD:The President Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adeel Siddiqui has expressed grave concern over the road infrastructure of Hyderabad Industrial Estate (SITE) and accused Sindh Industrial Trading Estate Company Limited of meting out step motherly treatment with Hyderabad.
He urged the caretaker Sindh Chief Minister to take notice of maladministration in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate.
In a statement on Monday, he said that industrial production is being badly affected due to discontinuity and suspension of amenities like electricity and gas supplies, a broken road network and a water supply system coupled. The HCCI President said that it was also raising the cost of production of industrial units.
He said that street lights remained almost nonexistent in SITE area and the area remained plunging into darkness after sunset. He said that it was reflective of the incompetence of the concerned department. Adeel Siddiqui said that encroachment had destroyed the industrial environment and the drainage network had not been cleared for years. He said that doing away with the sewerage pumping station was not a wise step because industrialists always face inundation during rainfall. He called for the restoration of SITE’s sewerage pumping station.
He said that industrialists of the area were experiencing serious issues in the transportation of their industrial goods and products due to the destruction of the road network following the 2022 rainfall. These industries contribute funds to around 35 departments but Sindh government never gave serious considerations to industries which are the backbone of the economy, he said.
The President of HCCI said industrialists contribute billions to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) besides contributing taxes to the Site. He said that the Hyderabad Engineering Support Center in Sindh Small Industries was established by the federal industries ministry to train manpower for industrial machinery parts.
He, however, said that due to the unavailability of an electricity supply, the work of this centre is being affected seriously. He said that technical classes remained incomplete as a result of which, the youths’ precious time is being wasted. He said that it was high time that this centre should be provided electricity supply on a war footing basis.
He pointed out that Hyderabad city has a population of 3.5 million yet no new industrial estate is being established which showed that steps to create employment opportunities to end unemployment keep eluding Hyderabad. He said that this city had always been neglected.
The President HCCI urged caretaker of the Sindh Chief Minister Maqbool Baqir to prepare a comprehensive plan for expeditious progress of Hyderabad and other districts of The Sindh. This plan should be given effect immediately, he added. He said that employment should be provided to people so that they could face the burden of price hikes.
He urged the caretaker Sindh Chief Minister to take notice of maladministration in the Sindh Industrial Trading Estate.