Sindh Assembly passes resolution against load-shedding menace

Political parties fear issue will aggravate with the coming of Ramazan

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly passed on Tuesday a resolution against the recent unprecedented load-shedding in the province.

The lawmakers of all parliamentary parties cried foul at K-Electric (K-E) and other power utility companies working in the province, fearing that with Ramazan coming soon, the menace of load-shedding will further aggravate.

The resolution, moved by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurram Sher Zaman, also asked the provincial government to pay attention to the public outcry against closure of power plants and take up the issue with the federal government without any delay.



"In many areas, people are facing around 20 hours of load-shedding in this hot weather and the federal government has failed to install a new power plant and add electricity to the national grid," Zaman said, adding that due to the hide and seek of electricity, the small and medium businesses have also come to a standstill. "There is no electricity, but K-E is sending huge bills, which the consumers cannot afford to pay," he said.

Injustice with Sindh

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, endorsing the resolution, said injustice is being meted out to Sindh by the federal government by carrying out unannounced and hours-long load-shedding in Sindh.

"We have paid around Rs27 billion to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company. Both power utility companies have issued clearance letters, but electricity still seems to be a distant dream," Shah said.



"The Sindh government will support you when it comes to load-shedding and a high rate of tariff for power," he said, adding that he recently held a meeting with the federal government's officials to resolve the tariff issue.

Faisal Subzwari of the Muutahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan also supported the resolution, saying that his party also has grievances against the exorbitant bills and high tariff rate.

Syed Owais Shah of the Pakistan Peoples Party presented some cases of his constituency in Sukkur district, where officials of power utility companies often threaten consumers to pay their electricity bill otherwise Rangers and the National Accountability Bureau would take action.



During the debate, the lawmakers asked the provincial government to give more subsidies to consumers and fix the issue with consultation of power producing companies.

Increase in private schools' tuition fee

During the session, Zaman also moved a resolution against the exorbitant fees being charged by the private schools in Karachi. He demanded the government to take action against these schools, which don't even pay salaries to the staff on time.

"Every year, they increase 20% to 30% of their tuition fees. This has created resentment among parents, who cannot afford such exorbitant fee rates," he said, referring to Sindh Assembly's legislation about free education, which bound private schools to give scholarships to deserving students.



Meanwhile, Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar said he had not yet received any complaints against private schools charging high fees. "I can take action if there is anyone who can share such information with me," he said.

Negotiations with transporters

Earlier, some members raised the issue of the ongoing goods transporter strike in the city, on which the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said the ban was imposed on the movement of heavy vehicles on court orders.

"Due to the strike, activities at ports have come to a standstill. The case is sub-judice and the next hearing is on May 20," Khuhro said, adding that they are trying to resolve this issue by negotiating with the transporters.



Minimum wages

As the session started with the Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, the Transport and Labour Minister Nasir Shah, while responding to questions by MPAs, said the government has decided to increase minimum wages of labourers from Rs13,000 to Rs14,000 in the upcoming budget.