BADIN: A large number of traders, activists of civil society and political parties and members of general public staged a rally and observed sit-in at Mehran Chowk on Wednesday in protest against Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sui Southern Gas Company for prolonged loadshedding of power and gas supply to the city.

The protesters’ leaders Zahid Khowaja, Mohammad Hassan Memon, Khalifo Tariq Memon and others said that frequent power breakdown in the city and adjoining areas during scorching heat had forced consumers to resort to agitation against delinquent officials of Hesco and SSGC.

They alleged the Hesco officials had given away illegal connections for air conditioners in return for bribe and made legitimate consumers suffer and share the burden of illegal consumption of power. It was also a major cause of burning out of PMTs, they said.

The traders said that prolonged power failure had badly affected their businesses.

The protesters also slammed SSGC officials for shutting down gas supply to the city simultaneously with electricity loadshedding, forcing people to buy cooked food for their families from hotels.

They, however, ended the protest after Hesco executive engineer met them and assured that he would replace and repair the faulty transformers, which were unable to sustain increasing power load.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2020