Lahore: The many hours long load shedding in various areas of Punjab where the common citizens face problems and problems also increases the difficulties for the small shopkeepers and store owners who do not have generators to run the refrigerators.
Mohammad Sufyan is a resident of Baghbanpura area of Lahore, he has built a general store in his area, but these days he is very worried due to load shedding.
Mohammad Sufyan says that unannounced long load shedding has become the norm, they don’t have enough resources to buy generators to get electricity. Powers have installed UPS for lighting during loadshedding, but the refrigerator cannot be run on the UPS, due to which the items stored in their refrigerator get damaged.
Like Muhammad Sufyan, many other shopkeepers and general store owners like him also face difficulties. Mian Akhlaq Ahmad, the owner of Milk Shop (Milk Shop) in Gulbarg Lahore, said that he had to use ice to prevent spoilage of milk and curd during loadshedding.
Mian Akhlaq Ahmed says that if there is electricity for half an hour, then one can live, but when there is no electricity for several hours, then there is a risk of spoilage of milk and curd. So they put ice inside the fridge to keep it cool.
A five kilowatt generator is required to run a refrigerator, a fan and a few lights. The price of a five kilowatt generator in the market starts from Rs.2 lakhs and if it comes to solar panels, the costs go up manifold.
Two liters of petrol is used to run the generator for one hour. According to the general store owners, four to five hundred rupees will be spent on gasoline in an hour, but they do not earn that much for refrigerator items.
The management of a well-known super store in Lahore said that during load shedding, their daily expenses increase by three to four lakh rupees.
He said that since the superstore is open 24 hours and there are dozens of refrigerators and freezers, the medicine section, meat and vegetable sections also require cooling. In addition to refrigerators and refrigerators, air conditioners run 24 hours a day, so the cost of electricity increases.
Malik Sellers Association (Milk Sellers) Lahore President Chaudhry Sohail while talking to The Express Tribune said that generators are an alternative to load shedding but this method is very expensive.
A unit of electricity costs 40 rupees, while a unit of electricity from a generator costs 85 to 90 rupees. He said that the price of one maund of milk increases from Rs.150 to Rs.200.
Due to load-shedding, small shopkeepers and general stores often stop keeping refrigerated items, in which various types of drinks, ice-creams are notable, while in small towns and villages, galvanized patties, plastic drums are used to keep drinks cold. .
Shopkeepers say that their businesses are badly affected by unannounced long loadshedding, so the government needs to pay attention to this aspect.
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