Wapda discrimination

Prolonged loadshedding in Wahi Pandhi, a remote village in Sindh, has rendered scores of tube wells useless and destroyed crops fed by this only source of water. State Minister for Power Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali has said that those areas that are incurring huge financial losses to Wapda are undergoing maximum hours of loadshedding. This amounts to discrimination.
Why has no action been taken against big, powerful defaulters, Wapda and other officials promoting a culture of electricity theft and amassing huge wealth? The last time the PML-N came to power, it tasked the army to recover pending Wapda dues from consumers. Meters were installed but then corrupt Wapda officials started sending inflated bills to poor consumers that forced them to pilfer electricity because they have no avenues available to redress their grievances. Now instead of cleansing Wapda of such people, the government is punishing the poor, low-income groups by resorting to long hours of loadshedding. One feels uncomfortable thinking of what will happen in the hot summer days. The federal and provincial governments should realise the gravity of the matter and take necessary measures to lessen peoples’ hardships. This grave energy crisis requires an out-of-box solution. One feasible option is to fix a certain amount for power consumed by lower income households by using data available with Nadra.
Gulsher Panhwer
Johi