Hundreds stage demonstration against overbilling

Residents of Ghulam Muhammadabad and adjoining areas block Narwala Road.

FAISALABAD: Hundreds of residents on Tuesday staged a protest demonstration against overbilling by the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco).

The protesters, mostly from Ghulam Muhammadabad, gathered on Narwala Road and blocked it for all kinds of traffic.

Talking to reporters, one of the protesters, Akram Javaid, a resident of Rasool Pura, said that Fesco had sent them inflated bills.

“If we pay these bills, we will be left with no money to feed our children. This is not the first time that we have been overbilled. The company tries to cut its losses due to electricity theft by overcharging customers who pay their bills,” he said.

Another protester, Raza Hussain, said they had contacted the Fesco sub-divisional office for the correction of the bills.

“They asked us to contact the Fesco headquarters. When we went there, the Fesco employees told us to return the next day as the relevant officer was not in the office,” Hussain said.

“We visited the Fesco headquarters the next day and got the same answer. Instead of correcting the errors, the Fesco officials are pressuring us to pay the bills if we want the electricity supply to continue,” he said.

The protesters marched on various roads before they gathered in front of the Fesco office in Faizabad.

They chanted slogans against Fesco authorities and the government and demanded action against the officials responsible for overbilling.

A police contingent was sent to the scene.

They assured the protesters that their demands would be conveyed to higher authorities.

The demonstrators then called off the protest.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2014.