Sindh CM urged to unseal cottage industries, SMEs

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has urged Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to direct the Sindh Building Control Authority to unseal the cottage industries and the SME units of Mehran Town, which have been sealed due to the recent fire in a factory.

Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver said that this action is unfair and not based on equity and justice, as the unfortunate fire was caused due to an accident, which occurred in the premises because of the generator defect due to long hours of load-shedding. The real story will come up in the court proceedings and actual facts will come to light.

Thaver said that it is unwise to seal all micro and SME units in this manner. The provincial government must order immediate inspection of each and every unit specifically and those not observing safety and security measures must be sealed instead of all.

The provincial government must realise the fact that thousands of people are surviving on the income from these units and by shutting them, the government is creating problems for the employees.

Thaver requested the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) to take up the matter through the National Coordination Committee formed by the prime minister and request the Sindh chief minister to kindly consider the hardship and sufferings, which the micro to medium sector will face due to closure.

Several members of a family are involved in a unit and income of all bread earning members, including parents and children gets stopped. This will lead to difficulties in the survival of such employees.

The Unisame Council members said: “We appeal to our CM Syed Murad Ali Shah to order immediate reopening of sealed units and save the MSMEs of Mehran Town from collapse.