HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company has appealed to the Supreme Court to issue directives to the authorities concerned to ensure protection to its senior officers and other employees in Tando Mohammed Khan in the wake of an attack on the utility’s team that had removed nine illegal poles along Bulri Shah Karim Road.

A Hesco spokesman said that the appeal was made by the Hesco Chief Executive Officer, Akhtar Ali Ran­dhawa, on Saturday amid threats of dire consequences from those who were affected by the utility staff’s action.

The CEO had called for protection to the life of Hesco officers so that they could discharge their responsibilities without any fear, said the spokesman.

According to the Hesco chief, officers and other employees of his organisation are engaged in checking power theft and recovering outstanding dues from defaulters in the Tando Mohammed Khan but they are receiving death threats from lawbreakers.

The spokesman said that such threats were received by Hesco executive engineer in the region Riaz Pathan, Tando Mohammed Khan sub-divisional officer (operation) Manzoor Magsi and the line staff who found and dismantled nine illegal poles installed on the agricultural lands along Bulri Shah Karim Road. The Hesco field team was attacked by some employees of the lands’ owners, the spokesman said, adding that three members of the team including a line superintendent were injured in the attack. An FIR (215/2016) was lodged by the team as the Tando Mohammed Khan police station but a counter FIR was lodged by and landowner against Hesco officers.

The spokesman claimed that the landowner and his employees were threatening the executive engineer and SDO with dire consequences to force them withdraw the FIR.

The spokesman said that the Hesco chief had directed all officers and employees to cut off power to defaulters irrespective of their political or other affiliation/influence.

No relief would be given to power thieves and the indiscriminate action against defaulters would also continue till 100 per cent recovery of dues in the region, the spokesman added quoted the CEO.—APP

Action against SDO stayed

A division bench of the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, comprising Justice Salahuddin Panhwar and Justice Ghulam Qadir Leghari on Saturday restrained the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) authorities from taking disciplinary action against a sub-divisional officer (SDO) who had in his previous petition challenged the extension granted to the utility’s chief executive officer (CEO) Akhtar Ali Randhawa, our staff correspondent adds.

Imran Ahmed Shaikh through his counsel Advocate Soulat Rizvi had moved the petition citing the federal water and power secretary, Hesco chief executive officer and chief operating officer as well as its board of directors as respondents.

Issuing notices to the respondents and the deputy attorney general for Aug 23, the court ordered the petitioner to cooperate with the Hesco authorities in respect of the inquiry being conducted against him and restrained the utility from issuing any final orders against the petitioner.

The petitioner submitted in court that he had been issued 10 show-cause notices by the authorities over the last five months whereas only seven such notices were issued to him during 14 years of his service. He stated that he had filed a contempt application against the officers concerned after one of the show-cause notices was issued to him in violation of a recent court order asking them not to harass the petitioner, who had moved court against an extension granted to Mr Randhawa.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2016