JHANG - The owners of 20,000 powerlooms have decided to shut their unite for indefinite period across the district due to every day strikes of workers and save themselves from a 'criminal group' which demanding extortion on weekly basis.
Power looms Association President Shiekh Nasir, executive committee members including Iftikhar Lodhi, Haji Rauf and Shakeel Ashraf announced this while addressing a press conference here the other day.
They said that power looms owners paid million of rupees monthly as income, sales tax and electricity bills to the government but the administration was not paying attention to solve their problems.
They alleged that Labour National Movement members had been collecting extortion money from workers but now they started demand money from power loom owners on weekly basis, adding that in case of refusal, they started damaging power loom units and threatened workers and owner as well.
They said that they had always acted upon contracts signed between owners and workers and during previous three year they had increased workers salary almost 90 percent.
But these so-called leaders who are actually a group of criminals has made up their mind to destroy the industry, they alleged.
They said that they had invested million of rupees to stable the industry and provide employment to residents of backward area of the district but the district administration was not taking interest to solve these issue and instead openly siding with the extortion mafia.
They claimed that a number of applications had been moved to lodge FIRs against the mafia but the police did not pay any attention.
The Power loom Association President demanded the administration to take immediate action against the group of culprits and arrest outlaws involved in the extortion.