PESHAWAR: PTI lawmakers and Peshawar Electric Supply Company officials on Friday agreed to help reduce power loadshedding and recover dues in the provincial capital.

A group of lawmakers and office-bearers of different traders’ unions headed by MPAs Arif Yousuf, Yaseen Khalil and others on Friday met Pesco chief engineer (operations) Nadeem Anwar and urged him to reduce the prolonged loadshedding to a reasonable period, otherwise the people would besiege the Wapda House.

Talking to mediapersons on the occasion, MPA Arif Yousaf said that the Pesco and Wapda officials accepted their four major demands, including reduction in loadshedding up to four hours, suspension of meter readers and linemen involved in over-billing and immediate replacement of faulty transformers in the city.

“We (MPAs) along with the elders of all union councils marched towards Wapda House with an intention to besiege it, but the Pesco chief engineer (operations) Nadeem Anwar persuaded us for holding talks,” he said.

Mr Yousaf said that the meeting also decided to set up open courts (Khuli Kechehris) in all union councils of the district for debate on the issue of over-billing, power theft and illegal connections and to ensure recovery from the consumers.

He said that the participants were assured that stern action would be taken against wapda officials from lower to upper rank if found involved in malpractices.

The PTI lawmaker said that the consumers were facing great hardships to get their out of order power transformers repaired despite paying for the purpose.

Meanwhile, Pesco workers on Friday boycotted their duties and held a rally against the non-payment of a special bonus to them.

Speaking to the protesters, leaders of All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union, including Gohar Taj, Mohammad Iqbal and Mustajab Mazdoor, said that a joint council of Pesco administration and workers union had agreed upon payment of one month’s salary as special bonus to workers but Pesco’s board of directors had stopped the payment. However, they called off the strike when Pesco’s chief engineer (operations) Nadeem Anwar assured them of paying the bonus before March 10.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play