LAHORE: Electricity workers continued their protest on Tuesday in front of the headquarters of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) on Queen’s Road while a group of angry protesters besieged a guest house in Muslim Town where company high-ups had gathered to brief a delegation of the Privatisation Commission.

Lesco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Qaiser Zaman, Senior Manager Planning and Development Rao Zameer, Chief Financial Officer Basharat Ali and other senior officers separately reached the guesthouse to brief the visiting Privatization Commission delegation on the assets, equipment, manpower and liabilities of the company.

An electricity worker on his way to Queen’s Road protest first spotted Lesco Human Resource Director Zamir Husain Kolachi and then DG (Admin) Tariq Wahid Khan entering a guesthouse in Muslim Town carrying laptop and files.

The worker informed his colleagues on the Queen’s Road about the ‘suspicious activities’ of the two senior officers and within half an hour, a good number of the protesters reached Muslim Town and besieged the guesthouse before disconnecting its electricity supply.

Sensing the danger, the officers started coming out of the guest house one by one. The protesters let their officers leave the place amid anti-privatisation slogans.

Chief Financial Officer Basharat Ali reportedly uttered some words which provoked the protesters who grabbed him. However, some senior leaders of the All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA) reached the spot and pacified the workers.

Mr Basharat left his car at the guest house parking and hired an auto rickshaw to escape the wrath of the protesters.

Speaking to the workers on the Queen’s Road, veteran trade union leader Khurshid Ahmed renewed the union’s pledge to resist the privatisation policy.

“We will not allow sale of Lesco and other state-owned enterprises at any cost,” said Mr Ahmed before a charged crowd who would start dancing to the tune of national songs being played there.

He urged the prime minister to present the proposed privatisation policy of state-owned enterprises before the National Assembly and Senate for debate.

“Every year, some 200 field staff sacrifice their lives and many more become permanently disabled while performing their duties on live lines. They are major stakeholders, the government should hold a dialogue with their union before making any decision,” said Mr Ahmed.

He demanded that workers and engineers should be given an opportunity to present their view before any decision on handing over the control of state-owned companies to the private members of board of directors who had not invested even a single rupee.

Union’s Township chapter chairman Mian Babar told Dawn the officials of the power distribution companies were surprised at the government’s decision of privatising Lesco, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco). “Lesco earns a net profit of Rs22 billion annually. Similarly, Fesco and Iesco are also in profit, even more than the Lesco,” he claimed.

Babar said the officials were united and determined to get the DISCOs privatisation stopped by all means in order to save the national assets. “That’s’ why we even followed the Lesco management and privatisation commission officials gathered here at this private building to finalize modalities in this regard,” he added, alleging that the PML-N government was devising a plan to sell the national assets to its close business groups.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2015

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