LAHORE, Feb 26: Punjab’s businessmen on Saturday warned of industrial closures and job cuts in the face of the five-day-a-week gas cuts to be slapped on the industry in the province from March 1.

Speaking at a press conference, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) Chairman Gohar Ejaz said suspension of gas supplies to the industry in Punjab was a violation of the federal cabinet decision and the prime ministerial instructions.

The cabinet and the prime minister had instructed the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited not to interrupt gas supplies to the export-oriented textile industry for more than two days a week even during winter.

Mr Ejaz said the gas utility had flouted these instructions during January and February and now it had announced an increase in duration of gas cuts to five days a week from the next month.

He said President Asif Zardari had declared 2011 as year of textiles. “How can we survive and execute export orders by working two days a week?” he asked. He said one million jobs would be lost because of the gas supply suspension.

Aptma Vice-Chairman Shahzad Ali Khan warned of serious consequences of gas cuts, fearing it could lead to violent protests. “The mill owners would join their workers in streets if the decision on gas load-shedding is not withdrawn in 48 hours,” he said.

Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association Former chairman M I Khurram said the cuts would devastate the value-added apparel industry that had recently came out of high yarn prices by passing on a part of price to the foreign buyers. He said the cost of production would increase if any alternate fuel, instead of gas, had to be used and execution of export orders would badly suffer.

A leading mini steel miller, Mehr Kashif, said gas and power were the two major inputs of the steel re-rolling and plastic industries. He said the mills could not survive if they had to use alternate high-cost fuels like diesel or furnace oil. He said thousands of workers would have to be laid off if normal gas supply was not restored.

Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Shahzad Malik called upon the prime minister to save the industries in Punjab from disaster by getting gas to the industry restored.