KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi has decided to hold protests in all towns on the upcoming Saturday against the K-Electric over frequent loadshedding and other corrupt practices, including the bid to further increase the tariff by Rs18.89 per unit.
JI Karachi interim Ameer Munim Zafar announced this at a press conference held outside the KE headquarters in Karachi, here on Tuesday evening.
A large number of the KE-affected people, representing all walks of life, participated in the press conference.
Speaking on the occasion, the JI leader said that Karachiites reserved the right to protest outside the Governor House and or the KE headquarters, if the private company didn’t place it’s house in order.
He said that the JI will also move the judiciary against the power outages in the city because power outages on illogical grounds were imposing negative impacts on the mental health and productivity of a larger chunk of the population in the mega city.
He also highlighted the hefty bills and excessive tariff by the KE. He said that the JI will also take part in the public hearing to be held on May 9 by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority over the proposal to increase the tariff.
The JI leader demanded the NEPRA to side with citizens on the basis of justice, instead of playing the role of a facilitator to the KE in it’s wrongdoings.
On the occasion, he shed light in detail on the failures on part of the KE when it comes to its privatization some 18 years ago.
He said that the then KESC was privatized to end load shedding, line losses and increase production. However, he said, the entity has increased load shedding, line losses and decreased production of electricity.
The KE also failed in a miserable fashion when it comes to promises about investment in infrastructure and production, despite the fact that its consumer base has been expending continuously, Zafar said.
He said a letter has also been written to Chairman NEPRA highlighting violations of NEPRA decisions by KE.
He said the KE has been flogging Karachiites with load shedding of up to 14 hours in some areas of the city on the pretext of the Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses — which itself is a violation of the NEPRA decision.
He mentioned that the KE under no ethical, legal or administrative powers can use load shedding as a tool for collective punishment. However, he maintained, the KE enjoys the colonial era powers illegally and unconstitutionally with full impunity.
He said the regulator had fined the KE in this regard but to no avail.
Zafar said at one hand, the consumers pay heavy bills, capacity charges for electricity that is not produced. He added that on the other hand the same consumer is deprived of electricity because someone else in the society has not paid his or her bills.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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