HYDERABAD: At a time when the five-day strike of the All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union (CBA) entered the third day throughout the country on Wednesday in protest against privatisation of power companies, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali asked officers and workers of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) to launch a campaign to give new legal connections to consumers in order to curb power theft.

Presiding over a meeting held at the Hesco office during his visit to Hyderabad, he appreciated the performance of Hesco in terms of recovery and stressed the need for 100 per cent recovery with the help of Rangers without pressure.

He said line losses must be reduced and power theft be ended at any cost and asked superintending and executive engineers to do more for the recovery. If their work was not satisfactory, they would be transferred to other distribution companies out of Hesco, he warned.

He said that a seven-day notice must be served to power defaulters and if they failed to pay the dues, their supply should be disconnected.

The power minister categorically said that if the Sindh government failed to pay current bills of its departments, their connections must be cut off.

Meanwhile, except for emergency duties, Hesco and Sepco workers kept all departments and units of the two power companies closed.

A protest sit-in was staged at the Hesco headquarters in Hyderabad in which union’s central president Abdul Latif Nizamani, its Sindh secretary Mohammad Iqbal Qaimkhani and other leaders warned the government against privatising power distribution companies. In Sukkur, employees gathered outside Operation Circle office building and took out a big protest rally under the leadership of Hydro Union regional chairman Wali Muhammad Laghari and others.

Carrying banners and placards, the protesters marched while raising slogan in favour of their demand up to the local press club where they held a sit-in.

In Mirpurkhas, all divisional offices of Hesco remained close while workers and office-bearers held a protest demonstration outside the Hesco division office.

In Jacobabad, Wapda employees under the leadership of union office-bearers took out a rally which after marching on different roads of the city reached in front of the Sepco main office where the participants held a sit-in and raised slogans against privatisation of Wapda.

Similar protests and rallies were held in Pano Akil, Salehpat, Rohri, Ghotki, Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki, Daharki, Tangwani, Thull, Kandhkot, Kashmore and other towns.

They raised slogans against the government and demanded an end to the wrong policy of privatising national institutions.

They threatened to suspend power supply if the government did not withdraw its privatisation policy.

Hesco operation in Digri division also remained suspended and employees held a demonstration at Digri town while raising slogans against the government and in support of their demands.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015