DADU, May 22: The federal Minister for Water and Power, Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi, has said that six new grid stations would be built in Sindh at a cost of Rs2 billion during the current year. He was addressing a public gathering after the ground breaking ceremony of a 132KV grid station in Sita Road town here on Sunday.

He said that the grid station would be completed by March 2006 at a cost of Rs100 million. With its completion, voltage problem in the town would be controlled, line losses reduced and agricultural and industrial production in the area would get a boost.

He said that more grid stations would be constructed in other provinces as well to contain line losses and load-shedding.

He said that technical faults occur in heavy transmission lines, affecting voltage and that’s why Wapda was establishing new grid stations of low transmission lines.

He further said that work at Faridabad grid station was in progress and Rs85 million would be spent on water pumping station, Kachho, to provide clean drinking water to the people. He said the scheme would become operational in two months.

He stated that work on outlet scheme, Johi, would be completed within a month which would irrigate 15,000 acres of agricultural land in the area.

The minister said a water pumping scheme would be executed in Dr Arshad village at a cost of Rs20 million.

He also advised the people to apply for tube-well connections for agricultural lands.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive NTDC, Wapda, Mohammad Sharif, said that construction work of grid stations was continuing for power supply to areas and more villages would be electrified after setting up of these stations.

Hesco chief, Mr Adeebul Hassan Rizvi, said that under the directives of federal minister, inflated bills were being corrected and detection bills would not be issued in future.

He added that at a cost of Rs11 billion, 14 more grid stations would be constructed in five years.

The Nazim of Sita Road, Ali Mohammad Soomro, MPAs Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, Ihsan Ali Jatoi, the district president of the PML, Dadu, Ahmed Khan Lund, general secretary Aijaz Khan Sihole and Nazim UC Thallaho, Abid Lakhair also spoke on the occasion.