MUZAFFARGARH, Aug 3: Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to come up with some ‘workable plan’ to overcome power shortage in the province instead of consuming energies on leading protest demonstration in Punjab.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, he said the government had always consulted its coalition partners and opposition parties for their suggestions on various national issues and related legislation.

Mr Kaira and water and power minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar were on a visit to Muzaffargarh to inspect the rehabilitation work on pylons which had fallen last Saturday in a windstorm, disrupting power supplies from Muzaffargarh thermal power plant.

Mr Mukhtar said the affected high transmission lines had been fixed and 1,800MW supply had been restored to the national grid.

He said apparently the disruption was caused by natural calamity, adding if there was any engineering fault involved, he would take strict action against those responsible for it.

Mr Kaira alleged that some elements, including Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, were harassing Wapda officials by leading baton-wielding mobs and it was against law and democracy.

He appreciated the workers and officers who restored the power supply by working hard in the summer heat the area was notorious for.

Power minister announced Rs1 million bonus for technical workers and one extra salary for the NTDC officials and administration as a reward.

He said only Chashma thermal power suffered some technical faults and his department had ordered spare parts from China.

About Zulfiqar Khosa’s resignation from chief minister’s adviser’s slot, Mr Kaira said leaving parties and joining some others was part of politics, adding that if Mr Khosa took a final decision to leave the PML-N there might be a possibility that he would join the PPP.

He said despite opposition by world powers the PPP-led government signed an agreement with Iran on gas and electricity projects and refused to compromise on country’s nuclear assets.

He claimed there was uniform loadshedding all over the country and no province or constituency was being discriminated in this regard, adding that during protests against outages in Punjab the water and power department suffered billions of rupees losses.

He said a commission should be constituted to probe why no new thermal power units were constructed from 1996 to 2008. Kaira said he and his party had trust in Supreme Court and its decisions. He claimed that the proposed Seraiki province would be created before general elections.

On some media persons’ complaints about a ‘mafia’ involved in stealing of oil from thermal power stations, Mr Mukhtar said his department had constituted special teams for taking a strict action against such elements.

Later the both ministers inspected the site where pylons had been damaged and appreciated the workers involved in repairs.