LARKANA: The Sindh-Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association (SBRMTA) on Friday announced closure of their industrial units, and asked all its members in both the provinces to stop paying electricity bills from the current month.

Speaking at a press conference, president Qamaruddin Gopang and general secretary Asad Tunio of the association strongly condemned the recent hike in electricity tariff, and said that all association members had been asked not pay their electricity bills for December onwards and close down their mills.

Rice millers were also told to hold press conferences in their respective areas to press Wapda and the government to reverse the decision as the new tariff was quite damaging to the mills.

They said they had time and again appealed to the prime minister and heads of all power distribution companies in the country not to go for an exorbitant hike in the power tariff but in vain.

Small traders resent loadshedding

Hydera-bad Chamber of Small Traders and Small Industry (HCSTSI) president Mohammad Farooq Shaikhani has severely criticised up to 16 hours of loadshedding being carried out by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) even in this winter season, and said this was badly affecting production at small industries. In a statement issued here on Friday, he also deplored additional power shutdowns on account of repair and maintenance, besides 14-16 hours of loadshedding every day in the city.

Unfortunately, Hesco had become an institution that was causing monetary losses to Pakistan’s economy the most, he said, adding that the utility was being run on an ad hoc basis. He noted that since its CEO used to be changed after every few months, consistency in its policies was eluding the power utility.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2022