LARKANA, June 12: A large number of traders took out a procession after observing strike for three hours here on Tuesday to protest against prolonged power outages and issuance of inflated bills by the Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco).

The protest was observed on the call of the Federation of Traders Association, representing 27 small traders’ bodies, which has launched a campaign against prolonged outages and incorrect and inflated bills.

The procession emerged from the Kennedy Market. Carrying banners and placards and raising slogans, the participants marched on different roads and held a demonstration outside Jinnah Bagh.

Speaking on the occasion, the president of the federation, Tariq Nazeer Shaikh, and leaders Aslam Shaikh and Suleman Shaikh deplored that commercial areas of the city remained deprived of electricity for 14 hours on daily basis in the summer when temperature neared 50 degree Celsius. Later addressing a press conference, the traders’ leaders threatened to call for shutter down strike on June 19 if Sepco failed to improve the situation by then.

They said that power feeders installed on Empire road, Station road, Allahabad, industrial area and Jinnah Bagh should be excluded from load shedding since 80 per cent of the consumers getting supply from the feeders regularly paid bills.

They alleged that Sepco officials had developed the habit of sending highly inflated bills with “detection charges,” to the consumers and paid no heed to repeated complaints.

They said frequent tripping of feeders and prolonged loadshedding coupled with low voltage had severely affected trade and industrial activities.

The meter readers recorded meter reading with pencils and later changed the same at their offices, they alleged.

They opposed postings and transfer of Sepco officials on political ground and called for posting officials with good record in Larkana.

They demanded replacement of faulty and damaged transformers and 10 mobile transformers to face an emergency. Finding no other remedy, the traders had been compelled to launch protest, they said.