The Karachi Eclectic Supply Company (KESC) has put the cottage, small and large industries at the verge of closure, by not attending complaints of electricity faults and failure, besides carrying out hours-long load shedding. The number of pending complaints in Site Industrial area alone has reached to over thousand and in commercial areas the numbers of complaints are much higher.
The industrialists said that it was the responsibility of KESC to provide uninterrupted power to its consumers but the management had miserably failed to discharge its obligation. They alleged that the company was harassing its consumers on the pretext of its dispute with the labour union. The dispute with labour union is their internal mater and the management and CBA of the utility should resolve it amicably.
Owners of small units said work at thousands of small manufacturing units in commercial and residential areas (shoe making, plastic goods making, welding units, car washing units, tailors, drycleaners, battery charging, Atta Chakies ) had come to standstill due to prolong power outage and non attending of complaints by the utility.
They said that SMEs were the backbone of the economy of any country but in Pakistan KESC had compelled them to go out of business. They alleged that the management of KESC was deliberately avoiding to resolve its issues with labour union and carrying out load shedding just to save cost of furnace oil, and to get furnace oil and gas on differed payment as well as on discounted rates.
They feared that the escalating tension between KESC and its CBA might lead to serious law and order situation and unrest in the city. The trade and commercial activities in the city have been severely affected owing to the prolonged load shedding due to continuous confrontation between KESC management and CBA.
The trade and commercial activities have come to a halt due to more than eight hours load-shedding in a day in many areas of Karachi.
They urged Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan and Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah to take notice and issue directives to the concerned parties to resolve the matter amicably. Chairman, Site Association of Industry (SAI) Abdul Wahab Lakhani said he was shocked to receive an email from Chief of KESC SITE Area wherein he had informed about suspension of business operation till further orders and that they would not be attending any complaint till government steps to resolve the matter.
He said that the SITE Industrial Area having more than 4000 industries and employing more than a million regular and daily wage was already facing power problems because every day scores of complaints were being lodged with KESC and only few of them were being attended under the protection of Rangers.
Lakhani said that after privatization, it was the prime responsibility of new KESC management to restore the image of Karachi as "City of Lights". The general public of Karachi and industrialists had welcomed privatization in the hope that the old lethargic attitude of KESC would end and faults would be attended in more serious manners. "However, this has so far proved to be a dream for Karachiites in general and the SITE industries in particular," he added. Lakhani has requested KESC management and the CBA to resolve their issues in the lager national interest, due which the citizens, industrials and traders were suffering the most.