October 16, 2008	Thursday	Shawwal 16, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 15: Leaders of the businessmen’s community, traders and shopkeepers stage a demonstration near the head office of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation in Saddar on Wednesday against the exorbitant increase in power tariff.

The demonstration was organised by the Alliance of Market Associations to press the KESC to withdraw its decision of increasing power tariff by 70 per cent and do away with load-shedding.

Representatives and members of 120 markets affiliated with the alliance took part in the protest and severely criticized the KESC for causing them heavy losses by resorting to frequent and prolonged load-shedding in business hours. They also expressed their resentment over an up to 70 per cent increase in power tariff, and termed it “unjustified”.

As a token of protest against the tariff hike, traders and shopkeepers in Saddar pulled down shutters for one hour and joined in the rally, blocking Abdullah Haroon Road.

President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Anjum Nisar, and other office-bearers including M. Jawed Bilwani and Mohammad Ali, also participated in the rally and urged the protesters to continue their campaign against tariff hike and load-shedding peacefully. They expressed solidarity with the affected traders and other power consumers in the metropolis.

They held out the assurance that the KCCI leadership would extend full support to the businessmen’s community and traders in getting the decision of tariff hike reversed.

A leader of the alliance, Samad Khan, said he had received assurances from certain quarters that load-shedding would be done away with by Nov 1 and the fresh increase in power tariff would also be withdrawn. He warned that a massive protest campaign would be launched if the KESC did not stop load-shedding. He said the traders did not accept any hike in the power tariff.

Meanwhile, the KESC has started sending the previous month’s power consumption bills as per the increased tariff and many consumers said they were charged more than 100 per cent higher rates under the head of energy charges.

Consumers in many areas of Gulshan-i-Iqbal Hasan Square said they received electricity bills for September showing more than double the amount they were charged until the previous month.

Similar complaints were received from the areas falling along Sharea Faisal.

The Markazi Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan on Wednesday warned that the 70 per cent increase in power tariff, coupled with the persisting load-shedding of many hours a day, had been added to citizens’ woes and pushing the industry to a total collapse.

Speaking at a protest demonstration organised by the party outside the Karachi Press Club, chief organiser of the party Allama Ghulam Mohammad Siaalwi, accompanied by Arshad Aqil and Mubashar Qadri, said the government was overburdening the common man by repeatedly increasing power tariff.

He said that the collapse of industry in the city could render millions of workers jobless in a situation where unemployment was already on the rise.

Criticising the government’s “flawed policies”, he said that the authorities must refrain from taking such decisions that could add to the already deepening crises like inflation, terrorism, financial and economic constraints, etc.—Agencies