LAHORE- The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry taking a strong exception to the crackdown carried out by City District Government against a number of industrial units situated at Multan Road, has urged the government to stop this harassment as action had been initiated against a number of such industries that have nothing to do with disposal of toxic water. In a statement issued on Monday, an LCCI spokesman said that such a punitive action would lead to closure of these industries rendering thousands of employees jobless. It seems that the bureaucracy wants to spoil the image of a business-friendly provincial government. He said that the industry was already passing through a severe crisis and the step would further aggravate the situation. The LCCI spokesman said that there in no doubt that such an action should be taken against all those who are polluting the groundwater but those industries that are not discharging any sort of chemical water should not be subjected to any action. He said that the same waste water disposal system is operational in the Multan Road industrial area that is in vogue in Cantonment, Johar Town and a number of other housing schemes. He said, therefore, the fault lies with the Planning Division and not with the industrialists of the area. He said that it would have been better if the concerned department had prior meeting with the Trade Bodies so that action could be initiated against only those who were really involved in discharging toxic water. He said that the fact remains that nearby passing Hadiyara drain does contain toxic chemicals only because that it is coming from India and the Indians had built a number of such industries which are discharging toxic water in it and the same water is entering into Pakistan. The spokesman said that police action against industrialists who are contributing to the national economy in a big way is unjustified and against all norms. The LCCI spokesman suggested to the government to form a committee comprising LCCI representatives, officials of the concerned department and area industrialists to sort out the issue instead of launching a crackdown and spreading harassment among the industrialists.