Call to set up hydel thermal power stations

LAHORE
Human rights defenders and trade union leaders General Secretary of All Pakistan Wapda Hydroelectric Workers Union Khurshid Ahmed, lawyer Abid Hassan Minto, Syed Tanzeem Hussain and Hussain Naqi of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan have demanded serious measures be taken by both the federal and Punjab government to prevent rising number of deaths in Karachi and other parts of Sindh in the ongoing heatwave.
The serious tragedy causing deaths of more than 1000 innocent citizens of Karachi due to loadshedding of Karachi Electric Supply Company is adding fuel to fire.
It has not only been acknowledged by all the political parties and their leaders, the government had declared not only in National Assembly and earlier in Senate Committee on Water and Power that KESC had not only been receiving 650 megawatts electricity daily from Wapda at cheaper rates and selling far higher to the electricity consumers as well receiving gas from Sui Southern Gas Company at subsidised rates costing billions of rupees to the exchequer and had been closing their thermal power stations to earn double profits from the electricity consumers against the public interest.
Some of the political parties demanded in the National Assembly to withdraw the privatisation of Karachi Electric Supply Company in the public interest. They demand the Prime Minister he should intervene and withdraw the decision of the present government to privatise profitable electricity distribution companies including Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) instead of that introduce administrative reforms by withdrawing its control under the hands of the private members of Board of Directors without investing single pie by them and had been made owner of the all electricity, generation and transmission companies amounting trillion of rupees since the electricity is basic need of the citizens.
Over and above, the privatisation of profitable electricity distribution companies will be against the public interest and will give rise to inter-provincial dispute alike water distribution. The government should also take measures to raise hydel and gas-fired thermal power stations in the public sector to provide cheaper electricity and overcoming serious loadshedding of electricity and adopt the policy of conservation of energy to get implemented the decisions of the present government to get closed commercial centres at 7pm and divert that energy to the industries, agriculture and domestic consumers. They urged the government to take measure on the just demands of the working class and civil society and progressive political parties.