December 05, 2006	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 13, 1427

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HYDERABAD, Dec 4: Jamshoro thermal power house was closed on Sunday after its unit-II caught fire causing a shortfall of around 527 mega watts to the national grid, sources said.

No responsible official at the power house, including its chief executive and resident engineer, was available for making any comment on the closure. The chief executive had just returned from Islamabad where he had gone to attend a meeting of Privatisation Commission, sources said.

Of the total four units, three are Chinese-made having a capacity of 200 megawatts each while the only Japanese unit-I has a capacity of 250 megawatts.

Sources at the power house said that the Chinese units now produced a maximum of 160 to 180 MW of electricity while the Japanese unit produced around 187 to 200 MW.

"We can safely say that around 527 megawatts of electricity is produced per day by the four units and their closure since Sunday night has caused a shortfall of 527 megawatts to the national grid," said the source.

The source said that Jamshoro thermal power house also supplied power to Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) to overcome power needs of the mega city, which had faced an acute shortage of power during the current year.

Some employees fell unconscious when smoke engulfed the control room following fire breakout but there were no reports of any casualty. Fire broke out in the circuit breaker of Chinese unit-II which is already facing shutdown leading to stampede in the control room. "The employees took around an hour to extinguish the fire," said an official, adding that the employees had to struggle to close Japanese unit-1.

Two of the employees suffered injuries and were taken to Liaquat University Hospital while several others were provided treatment at the power house's own dispensary. Their identity could not be learnt.

Work on resuming the production of electricity was in progress till the story was filed.

Senior officials of power house held a marathon meeting on Monday but its details could not be learnt. The chief executive had ordered to conduct an inquiry into the incident, sources said.

LAW: Sindh Jamat-i-Islami general-secretary Rashid Naseem has said that the Protection of Women Act does not provide any protection to women, rather it is aimed at perpetuating exploitation of women in the country.

Talking to journalists here on Monday, he found it surprising that US President George Bush had felicitated the Pakistan government on the piece of legislation and said that it was because that the law would lead to promotion of western culture in Pakistan.

He said that while rape was a crime in the US, no one there could object to adultery that was why around 10 million women and 0.8 million men were living as single parents there.

ENCROACHMENTS: Sindh Revenue Minister Dr Irfan Gul Magsi has called for a report from revenue officials of Jamshoro district in respect of the land which is in possession of encroachers and land mafia. He said that report should be compiled after physical inspection of the land in question.

He issued the directive at a meeting of revenue officials of the district in the Board of Revenue's committee room, which was attended by the EDO, the DO, DOs and Mukhtiarkars of the four talukas of the district. Board of Revenue secretary Samuel Joseph was also present.

The minister was informed by the EDO revenue that the district earned Rs3 million each year in farm and income taxes because most of the region comprised arid land.