Show of unity: ‘Load-shedding to be reduced in Ramazan’

Minister says new load shedding schedule will be announced soon.

FAISALABAD:

State Minister for Water and Power Chaudhary Abid Sher Ali on Saturday said there would be no load shedding during sehari, iftari and taraveeh hours in Ramazan. He said overall load shedding hours would also be reduced in Ramazan.

He said instructions had been issued to distribution companies to make a new load management schedule so that the consumers could be provided some relief.

The minister said action would be taken against Faisalabad Electric Supply Company workers who were not cooperating with the public.

He said FESCO officials should be available during office hours.

Talking to newsmen after an open court session, the minister said the government had put the country on the road to progress.

He said no one would be allowed to sabotage national development.

He said the government and the army were on the same page but some people were trying to create the impression that they were fighting each other through media houses.

The minister asked consumers to register complaints through the control room if their problems were ignored.

Over 300 complaints related to electricity were presented to the minister at the court.

Power Looms Owners Association President Haneef Ramay told the minister that no representative of the association was allowed to attend meetings of the FESCO Board of Directors and their guards had insulted them when they tried to attend the meeting.

Ramay said the power loom sector faced fours of load shedding four years ago.

He said was now facing at least 10 hours load shedding daily.

He said a large number of looms had been shut down and thousands of people had been laid off.

The minister formed a committee under the supervision of MNA Hajji Muhammad Akram Ansari and directed it to prepare recommendations for decreasing load shedding for the power loom sector.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2014.