The unprecedented hike in electricity prices has put marble industry on the verge of collapse, which is the only means of employment for the residents of Buner as well as the underdeveloped districts of Malakand and Hazara divisions.
According to details, 450 factories and 316 marble mines employ thousands of people in their native area of Buner, while labourers from Shangla and Tor Ghar districts are also working at the facilities here.
Moreover, 4,000 trucks along with other heavy machinery also operate in Buner district for mining, transportation and finished products of marble. The marble ores and mines in Buner comprise 68% of the national reserves.
The president of the Buner Marble Association, Khursheed Khan, has claimed that 30% of marble factories had shut down due to high inflation and an unprecedented hike in electricity costs. He added that the marble industry of Buner contributed Rs470 million to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa exchequer in royalty, as well as paid Rs420 million in electricity bills and Rs50 million as excise duty.
Mr Khan has urged the authorities to redress the problems faced by the marble industry or thousands of workers will lose their livelihood in these times of immense price hike, further deepening the unemployment crisis. He added that it will also cause a loss to the provincial exchequer, as the Buner marble industry contributed Rs470 million in royalty.
Munir Rehman, a labourer, said the closure of factories will lead workers to starvation because they have no other skill to earn a livelihood. He said he had been working in the marble industry of Buner since 2017.
A mechanic, Iqbal, claimed they were installing 10 to 12 facilities of finished marble product in the district annually, but for the last two years no new factory could be set up. He added that earlier he would repair machinery on a daily basis, but now it has been weeks since he got a job in this regard.
In a nutshell, the collapse of the marble industry will affect the length and breadth of Buner district specifically, and other adjacent districts through starvation and unemployment, as most of the residents depended upon either this or were settled aboard.
It is high time that the competent authorities, including federal, provincial governments as well as the industry and mining departments, secure the sector from crumbling otherwise it impacts will be felt at the national and provincial levels.
A question also begs being raised here: how much of the Rs470 million royalty paid by the local industry is utilized for socio-economic uplift and human development of Buner because the aquatic life, drinking water and infrastructure destroyed by marble industry.
