LAHORE: The PPP has asked the PML-N to better focus on controlling torturous loadshedding of electricity to provide relief to the masses if the party wanted a stable term in power.

"The unbearable power loadshedding in the country may push the government to its early demise," PPP Punjab president Manzoor Wattoo said here on Monday.

He said the country's farmers were the worst-hit (by outages) because they were paying more for the electricity which was not available and the agriculture produce had been suffering badly due to water shortage.

He said the industrial sector, especially the small entrepreneurs, were suffering a lot as the excessive and unscheduled loadshedding had ruined their businesses, besides rendering daily-wage earners jobless.

Mr Wattoo said the PPP government used to ensure three hours uninterrupted power supply to the tube-wells at affordable rates for irrigation.

"Sporadic supply of one hour electricity to tube-wells has caused an acute water shortage and the resultant decline in productivity is like the economic murder of farmers," he added.

He said the persisting shortfall of 7,000 MW in the country was a source of utter disappointment for the people because the government had miserably failed to narrow down the gap between electricity demand and supply during over a year long rule.

He lamented the PML-N government had not added even a single megawatt to the national grid and the Nandipur Hydel Power Project proved a great disaster in terms of power generation and its competitiveness.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2014