HYDERABAD, Jan 14 The Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry and various trade organisations have demanded transfer of the Hesco chief and an end to loadshedding.

They warned that if their demands were not accepted with in a week, the businessmen will launch a protest movement against Hesco officials.

The decision was taken at a joint meeting of the executive committee of the chamber which was attended by different trade organisations of the district here on Wednesday. The chamber chief, Shafique Ahmed Qureshi presided over the meeting.

It decided that if the Hesco chief was not transferred and load-shedding was not ended immediately, the business community will stop payment of bills and hold protest demonstrations, stage hunger strikes and give a call for shutter down strikes.

Speaking on the occasion, the chamber president, Shafique Ahmed Qureshi said that six to twelve hours of load-shedding had paralysed the industrial sector and economic activities which had resulted in huge losses to the taxpayers.

Due to loadshedding, the work in schools, hospitals and offices had also come to stand still and the domestic consumers were also facing enormous problems, it said. It observed that every citizen was blaming the Hesco chief for inefficiency. He said that he himself and industrialists and representatives of small traders had tried to convey the sentiments of the people to the Hesco chief who has remained totally indifferent to the plight of the industrial, commercial and domestic consumers.

He said the country was in the grip of economic crisis and no doubt there was a shortage of electricity but due to the wrong policies and mismanagement of the Hesco chief, power crisis in Hyderabad had crossed all limits.

The industries were operating only for one shift as a result of which thousands of workers earning their wages on daily basis have been rendered jobless, the chamber president said.

The leaders of different trade organisations in their speeches lashed out at the Hesco chief for ignoring the HCCI and urged the chamber president to announce a protest movement about non-payment of bills and holding of protest demonstrations and shutter down strike.

They demanded of the federal minister for water and power and chairman Wapda to transfer the Hesco chief immediately.