KARACHI, Dec 22: City Nazim Niamatullah Khan on Wednesday asked the KESC to stop forthwith the practice of conducting raids on residential units for the purpose of checking power-load during day time, especially if male members were not at home.
Even if such a raid was unavoidable, it be conducted in presence of the elected representatives of the locality, he stressed. His directive came during a press conference prompted by a controversy over outstanding KESC dues on the KWSB. The nazim said that the KESC people must respect the right to privacy of its consumers.
He agreed with a reporter that breaking into a house for a raid in the absence of the male members of the family could cause not only harassment to womenfolk and children but also a great deal of trouble and indecency that did not suit the KESC team and the accompanying army personnel.
The nazim urged the KESC chairman and managing director to issue necessary directives to their officials in this regard. Expressing his concern over the complaints of inflated power bills, Mr Khan called for levying only energy charges. He described other charges appearing on the bill, like surcharge, additional surcharge, fuel adjustment charges, etc., as 'uncalled for' and 'unjust'.
