LARKANA: A shutdown was observed across Naudero town on Tuesday against between 16 and 18 hours of power loadshedding every day in response to a call given by the Citizens Action Committee (CAC).

The committee said the excessive loadshedding was in violation of the prime minister’s directive to the power utility not to exceed the total loadshedding hours from six in the urban and eight in the rural areas of Sindh.

Traders, shopkeepers and operators of commercial outlets pulled down the shutters and took out a rally raising slogans against Sepco.

A large number of other people also joined in the rally.

The participants held a sit-in outside the local grid station on Pir Jan Mohammed Road and refused to end their protest until the power utility reversed its loadshedding regime to normal. Ratodero SDM Dr M.B. Dharejo and DSP Yaseen Tagarand along with police personnel held talks with CAC leaders including Ghulam Haider Narejo, Manzoor Mangi, Quddus Panhwar and Sahib Khan Shaikh but failed to persuade them to end the protest.

The protesters pitched tents and the leaders, speaking to them, vehemently criticised the cold-shouldered attitude of elected representatives of the area who, according to them, chose to stay away from their electorate at the time of difficulty.

They said people of Naudero were enduring worst-ever loadshedding amid sizzling weather conditions which had badly affected routine life and trade activities.

They pointed out that the temperature had shot up to around 40 degrees Celsius but Sepco was pursuing an excessive loeadshedding regime on the pretext of recovery from defaulters.

Police personnel were deployed inside and around the grid station as the protesters vowed spend to the night in the open to continue their sit-in

SUKKUR: Large groups of power consumers in Sukkur, Jacobabad and many villages of upper Sindh held demonstrations on Tuesday against increased loadshedding hours in their respective areas.

It was reported that Sepco was carrying out 14 hours of loadshedding in the urban and 22 hours of loadshedding a day in the rural areas for various reasons, ranging from curtailed supply from source to localised faults/breakdowns, besides unpaid power dues.

Protesting villagers in different areas of Jacobabad district said they were getting electricity for only two hours a day which had devastated their routine life owing to unbearably tough weather conditions.

Protest demonstrations were held outside Sepco offices and at the thoroughfares as a result of which flow of vehicular traffic on Jacobabad bypass, level-crossings and different sections of the National Highway remained disrupted.

Long queues of vehicles were witnessed at different points of the highway for about 10 hours.

At some places, drivers and commuters were seen engaged in heated arguments with police personnel, who seemed helpless as protesters frustrated all their attempts to get the way cleared.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf activists, Kaleemullah Kharani, Nazakat Ali, Abdul Jabbar, Ghulam Qadir, Wadera Khaliq Dad Kharani and others, also joined in the protesters at Jacobabad bypass and severely criticised Sepco for unleashing atrocities on power consumers in scorching summer.

They said ailing and the elderly were worst-hit by the uncalled for and unjustifiable loadshedding at the very start of the summer.

They demanded a reasonable loadshedding regime keeping in view the timings to be pursued to cause minimum possible problems to the people.

The protesters said the sit-in would continue till their demands were met.

However, officials of the district administration, along with an influential figure of Jacobabad, Mir Irshad Kharani, held negotiations with the protesters.

Senior Sepco official of the region was also made to assure the protesters of a curtailed loadshedding in the district. On his assurance, the protesters dispersed peacefully.

MIRPURKHAS: A major breakdown rendered Mirpurkhas, Umer­kot and Tharparkar districts without electricity for four hours on Tuesday evening.

Power supply to the region from the Hala grid station was suspended at about 5pm and could be restored at about 9pm.

The cause of the breakdown could not be ascertained till late in the night.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2015

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