HYDERABAD: Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has said it is sad that power theft and kunda system is very common in the constituencies of PPP MNAs Mir Munawar Talpur, Pir Shafqat Ali Shah Jilani, Malik Asad Sikandar, Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Abdul Sattar Bachani, Dr Fehmida Mirza, Syed Ameer Ali Shah Jamote and MQM lawmaker Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

He said the MNAs and MPAs must cooperate with Hesco officials, adding that a letter had been written to Leader of the Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah in this regard. He said that the PPP and PTI leaders raised eyebrows over his facts and figures about the power theft, but no body could refuse the facts. Abid Sher Ali said that non-profitable and sick units of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) would surely be privatised after taking unions leaders of Wapda into confidence.

Talking to reporters after presiding over a high-level meeting of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) officers at the Hesco conference hall here on Wednesday, he said strict action would be taken against power thefts.

He said FIRs would be registered against power thieves and those officials of Wapda who were involved in the theft would be brought to the book.

He said 80-90 per cent of power was being stolen in the areas of above mentioned officials. He said SDOs were reluctant to take action against power thieves that’s why action would be taken against them in the first phase.

In the second phase, he would remove hooks and FIR would be lodged against the people who would be found guilty, he added.

He said that a grand operation was being carried out against power thieves. He said he had given one-month deadline to Hesco and Sukkur electric power company (Sepco) to curb stealing.

He said that he ordered disconnections of those Sindh government departments which were not paying bills.

He also instructed Hesco officers to end load shedding in the affected areas of Thar due to drought and famine