LAHORE: Deputy Commissioner Lahore Rafia Haider has said the business community is the engine of growth as it generates employment opportunities and revenue for the government. The issues being faced by the business community will be resolved in collaboration with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
She was speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry. LCCI President Kashif Anwar and Senior Vice President Zafar Mahmood Chaudhry also spoke on the occasion.
The deputy commissioner said that short-term and long-term measures will be taken to ensure a good business atmosphere. She said that the government is working on the main arteries of the city. An anti-encroachment drive will be launched soon.
She requested the business community to help generously for the earthquake affectees of Turkiye. She said that so far three cargo shops of relief goods have been sent by the government to Turkiye.
Currently, Rescue 1122 teams are carrying out relief measures in Turkiye. She said that the scale of the disaster is huge and as a brother country, we have to support Turkiye.
She said that the smog problem is increasing. The smog that covered the first few months is now degrading air quality throughout the year. These issues should be resolved together with the sectors that are causing smog including transport and some sectors of industry.
She said that if the positive support of the Lahore Chamber is with us, we will resolve the issues of smog, encroachment, high water charges and parking etc. She said that locations for parking plazas will be identified in consultation with the business community.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that there is an urgent need to install water hydrants in the markets of Lahore to avoid the heavy losses caused by fire incidents. In this regard, the LCCI has held many meetings with the Commissioner’s Office, while all the businessmen are ready to borne expenses of this project but there is still a lot of work to be done in this regard.
He said that LCCI has emphasised in a meeting with the previous deputy commissioner Muhammad Ali to ensure representation of Lahore Chamber in the management/market committees. We want the private sector’s position to be included while finalizing business-related administrative issues. This will also help in better implementation of many government orders.
The LCCI president said that construction of new parking plazas around important markets in Lahore has been included in the agenda of the Punjab government but it has not yet been implemented. Hall Road, Brandruth Road, Akbari Mandi, Mall Road, Circular Road, Ichhra Market etc are worth mentioning.
He requested the deputy commissioner to kindly ensure the construction of parking plazas on priority basis so that the parking problem in the city can be solved. Further, the private sector should also be allowed to participate in it. Where suitable space is not available, this problem can also be tackled by rotary parking.
He said that encroachments have particularly affected the commercial centres of Lahore. Big and important markets should be made free of encroachments as it slows down business activities.
He added that the problem of smog now occurs every year, affecting daily activities in addition to public health problems. We support government measures to control smog and we do not support any kind of violation. He said that it is important to mention here that the LCCI is well aware of its responsibility in this regard and has organized various sessions to educate and guide its members to prevent and control smog.
He said the LCCI does not have proper parking space, therefore our members have to park their vehicles outside on the road. This affects the flow of traffic and many times the traffic wardens even challan the members for parking on the road. Lahore Ladies Club is located in front of our building and there is a large parking space there. We demand that the parking space of Lahore Ladies Club should be allocated to Lahore Chamber which we will also build proper parking area at our own expense. We are ready. We need your support in this regard as well.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
