HYDERABAD, Jan 23 The Pakistan Power Looms Small Units Association, Tando Adam chapter, has urged Hesco to do away with electricity loadshedding, not to include fuel charges in the bills, upgrade transformers in the industrial areas and provide “B-1 commercial connections” to the power looms.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday, the zonal chairman of the association, Mohammad Aslam Ansari, said that the economy of the country depended on industrial development, and added that the power loom industry provided millions of jobs to unemployed youth.

He said that due to wrong policies of the government, power generation capacity had not been increased but the consumers were being overburdened with frequent increases in electricity tariff.

He said that due to 14-hour loadshedding in Tando Adam, power loom industry and other industries had been paralysed and the industrialists were not able to honour the supply orders.

He said that due to prolonged loadshedding, the industrialists had been rendered bankrupt and due to the cancellation of supply orders, they were even unable to pay electricity bills. As if this was not enough, Hesco had now added fuel charges in the bills of January, Ansari said and termed it as a dacoity.

He said that transformers in the industrial areas had not been upgraded and Hesco was keeping the industrialists on false hopes.

He said that power loom owners of Tando Adam paid at least Rs10 million towards their monthly electricity bills, but they were being meted out step motherly treatment.

He said that for the last two weeks, they had suffered irreparable losses due to a fault in Tando Adam grid station.

He said that the power loom owners had not been able to pay January bills due to prolonged loadshedding, and added that if loadshedding was not eliminated and fuel charges were not withdrawn, they would not be able to pay the bills.He demanded that the power loom owners be allowed to pay the bill in instalments.

Answering a question, Mr Ansari said that there were 6,000 power looms in Tando Adam.