KARACHI – Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) President Saleem-uz-Zaman said that maintaining business and industrial process during the current Corona virus epidemic is a major challenge and wise steps have been taken at federal and provincial levels to address it. The government and the industrialists can come up with a joint strategy to ensure uninterrupted production in the industries. He said that the industries could not be stopped completely, in this regard the government should implement smart lockdown instead of complete lockdown and speed up the process of vaccination. Saleem-uz-Zaman said that the number of vaccination centers should be increased so that more people could be vaccinated. President KATI said that the industrial sector is fulfilling its responsibility well and majority of the employees working in the industry have been vaccinated.
He said that in Korangi industrial area alone, more than 65,000 employees have been vaccinated in collaboration with the Sindh government, which shows that the spread of Corona is not possible due to the industrial production process. Saleem-uz-Zaman said the government should allow all businesses with SOPs to continue, as precaution is the only solution to fight the epidemic, but a complete lockdown of industry and trade would increase unemployment to dangerous levels. Which increases unemployment and the economy will be on the brink of collapse.
He said that the current wave of corona epidemic was taking a dangerous shape across the country and especially in Karachi which was proving to be a challenge to human lives as well as the national economy. President KATI said that Pakistan’s strategy to deal with the last Corona epidemic was universally appreciated, adding that not only vaccination was necessary to prevent the current Corona epidemic but also precautionary measures were being taken at the government level to prevent it. He said that now that the current wave of Corona is proving to be very dangerous and costly human deaths are on the rise, in this critical situation there is a need for the government, the people and other national institutions to work together in order to eradicate Corona. Take precautionary measures and control it by adopting effective strategies so that precious human lives can be saved in the country.
President KATI further said that the government should ask the Ministry of Labor, Health, Ministry of Industry and Commerce to formulate an effective strategy in this regard and also incorporate the suggestions of the industrial community in this regard. Also start immediate implementation. Saleem-uz-Zaman said that immediate steps should be taken to normalize the economic activities as well as other industries related to the export sector.
