HYDERABAD, Jan 31: The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) Chief Executive Maqbool Ahmed Khwaja has directed the officials to step up drive against all the defaulting Sindh government departments, which owed the company Rs4.08 billion, says a Hesco spokesman on Wednesday.

He said that Hesco employees had been directed to disconnect power supply to the public and private defaulters after the company’s repeated requests for dues clearance received little encouraging response.

The company had so far disconnected power to around 3,328 defaulters and recovered Rs225.5 million, he said and added that the company would step up its drive after Ashura.

As per chief executive's directives the connections would only be restored after the defaulters especially taluka municipal administrations (TMAs) which were responsible for streetlights paid their dues.

When the company had approached the Sindh government and requested it to clear the dues, it received the reply that the field offices had been provided required funds and directed to clear their dues. But the filed offices excused to clear the dues and said that they did not have funds, he said.

Hesco Manager (Commercial) Syed Khursheed Shah said that the company had once again asked the Sindh government officials to pay their dues as soon as possible.

Referring to a charitable hospital’s warning that it would take the company to court over what it called illegal disconnection of power the spokesman said that the hospital’s connection was cut after it failed to pay Rs60,000 by SDO operation sub-division Qasimabad Zafar Solangi.

The hospital management was asked to clear their dues before power disconnection failing which the company officials disconnected power, he said.