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MULTAN, Dec 28: Hours-long loadshedding in southern Punjab is affecting the wheat crop besides paralysing the activities of students, traders, industrialists and the general public.
Even though Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) officials claimed that electricity breakdown in urban areas was eight hours a day and 10 hours in rural areas but the actual duration of loadshedding was 16 hours in urban areas and 20 hours in rural areas, Dawn has observed.
Rajanpur Kissan Board Chairman Rasheed Khan Langah said that power failures did not allow farmers to completely irrigate even one acre of wheat field in the daytime with tubewells, the only source of irrigation in the area of Pachadh.
He said farmers could not afford installing diesel engines to run tubewells as one such engine cost Rs50,000 to Rs70,000 while the input cost to irrigate one acre would be Rs3,000 to Rs3,500.
Traders postponed their planned protest outside the prime minister’s camp office in Multan against loadshedding due to tension between India and Pakistan. They vowed to go ahead with their plan if loadshedding was not cut.
Bahauddin Zakariya University computer sciences student Muhammad Rizwan said their computer labs remained close most of the time due to loadshedding.
All Pakistan Power Looms Association Secretary-General Khaliq Qandeel Sindhu said the share of textile export had been reduced to 40 per cent from 70 per cent due to loadshedding.
Mepco Public Relations Officer Jamshaid Niazi said loadshedding would continue in Jan and the situation would improve when the Indus River System Authority release water in canals for irrigation.
SIALKOT: Up to 6,000 small and big industrial units in Sialkot have lost production due to power failures rendering hundreds of daily wagers and industrial workers jobless, said Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Hassan Ali Bhatti.
He said that foreign buyers were also diverting their business from Sialkot to China, India, Taiwan and Thailand after their failures to meet commitments.
He said that the hundreds of the daily wagers were being terminated from their jobs from Sialkot factories, as there was no work due to non-availability of electricity.
VEHARI: This district is no exception as unannounced loadshedding in rural and city localities has paralysed the life of the people.
Mepco Vehari Executive Engineer Mahr Khuda Baksh said the recent rains in the district had affected transmission lines and Mepco had to stop power supplies due to the repair work on these supply lines. He claimed the Mepco Vehari circle had issued loadshedding schedule. He appealed to consumers to have judicious use of electricity, especially from 6pm to 10pm.
