Faisalabad - Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry President Mian Zahid Aslam announced a scheme for welfare of the poor across Faisalabad.  The Chamber has initially donated a sum of Rs1.2 million for this purpose and the people have been invited to pinpoint the deserving poor for help. He added that Rs1 million have been donated to the flood affectees also in addition to other articles of food and cloths.
Addressing a news conference, he said that social uplift of Faisalabad was his top priority and he had taken a start by announcing this scheme for the poor.
He said that applications would be processed by a committee of the chamber and necessary grant will be issued immediately.  Regarding the business community, he announced that the trade and businesses were presently faced with problems like security, shortage of gas and electricity and high tariffs.
This was hampering not only the production in the country but also exports, he said and added that we have declared ‘2012 as Energy Year’. He siad hydropower is the only solution to keep the production cost competitive and we will organize an energy conference on construction of large dams including Kalabagh. Dam, he said.
Faisalabad is the biggest centre of textile in the country and the textile goods are lifeline of the national economy, he said. Nearly 60% of the national revenue, 40% of total employment in the country was supported by textile sector, he added.  The sector, he said, needed immediate attention for betterment and economic stability of the country. He further stated that he would like to take all sectors of economy with him and was trying his best to remove the hurdles in the way of these sectors’ progress.
He said that the chamber would not only try to facilitate the flow of business but also to make sure that the business community worked in security and peaceful conditions. He expressed hope that he would be able to muster support of other regional and national Chambers of Commerce and Industries for combined efforts for the betterment of business, trade and industry and the economy.  He was hopeful that the chamber would be able to achieve success. He emphasised that the problems being confronted by the country were not unsolvable but require concerted and joint efforts as well as rightful approach of the problems. He pledged to resolve these problems in a better manner.