HYDERABAD: Activists of Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamaat-i-Islami and residents of several localities took to the streets on Friday in protest against prolonged and unannounced load-shedding, frequent breakdowns, inflated power bills and rampant corruption in the Hyderabad Electricity Sup­ply Company (Hesco).

PPP Hyderabad leaders Kashif Khan Shoro, Zahid Bhurgari, Jabbar Khan, Shabana Khan and others who led a sit-in outside the Hesco head office in Hussainabad urged the federal government and Hesco to ensure adequate power supply to the residents of Hyderabad and put a stop to unannounced load-shedding and issuance of detection bills.

Mr Bhurgari said that load-shedding for 12 and 18 hours had been imposed in cities and villages and despite that inflated bills were routinely issued to poor consumers who could never pay them. He warned that if Hesco did not change its attitude and resolve peoples’ problems, the PPP would hold massive protests and block highways to bring the power utility to its knees.

He said the prime minister should tender his resignation without further delay as it was impossible for the joint investigation team to probe assets of a sitting PM.

Mr Shoro said that people of Sindh were being punished for casting vote for PPP. If there was no electricity, there would be no water as well, he said.

Residents of Qasimabad phase I and II, London Town, Sheedi Goth and Ali Palace also took to the streets and gathered at Ali Palace Chowk to protest against power outages.

The protesters, including students of many schools, demanded uninterrupted power supply to their areas and complained that either there was no electricity at all or if it came its voltage was too low to be of any use.

JI activists gathered at Faqir Ka Pir Chowk in response to a call for protest by the party’s central leadership and held a demonstration against power distribution companies.

JI naib emir Asadullah Bhutto said while addressing the protesters that PML-N had promised that they would end load-shedding within six months but they had utterly failed to resolve the problem even after having been in power for four years. He said that people had been fed up with unannounced load-shedding, over­bil­ling, inflated and un­fair detection bills, mis­mana­gement, corruption and arrogant attitude of Hesco officers.

He threatened to shut down offices of Hesco if the power utility failed to resolve consumers’ problems.

SUKKUR: JI Sindh emir Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui who led a protest outside the press club in Sukkur asked people to reject the rulers who had betrayed them and put their trust in JI.

The JI workers in Jacoba­bad took out a rally from the party’s office and reached the press club where the participants held a sit-in.

JI district emir Abdul Haf­eez Bijarani and other party leaders who led the protest said that unannounced load-shedding was carried out in Jacobabad, which was the hott­est town in the country. Wapda office would be besieged if load-shedding was not stopped, they warned.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2017