The rally participants carrying banners and placards chanted slogans against the KE and accused it of looting the electricity consumers of Karachi with both hands under the patronage of government.
Karachi
A large number of workers on Sunday staged a motorcycle rally against inflated bills and anti- consumer attitude of Karachi Electric (KE) and demanded immediate nationalization of the power supply utility and booking its owners and management for their fraudulent practices.
National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Muhban e Karachi staged a public protest during which a motorcycle rally was organized that started from Gulshan e Bihar Orangi and ended at KE Zonal office at Board Office Nazimabad. It was jointly led by NTUF central leader Aqib Hussain and chairman of Muhban e Karachi Hafiz Muhammad Arshad Rafique.
The rally participants carrying banners and placards chanted slogans against the KE and accused it of looting the electricity consumers of Karachi with both hands under the patronage of government. They said that the Karachiites should be saved from the KE terrorism. The KE should be immediately nationalized. It should end illegal inflated billing and return extorted money back to power consumers of the megacity.
Addressing the rally, NTUF general secretary Nasir Mansoor said that the KE has raised its tariff by 200 percent without any reason or rhyme. He said every new cruel taxes are being slapped over citizens under different pretexts. He said both the KE and government are hand in glove to loot the citizens through new taxes. He said the silence of elected representatives’ show that their vested interests are linked to the KE mafia. He said the privatization of the KE is amongst the top most financial frauds of Pakistan. He said this century old public service utility was sold to the agents and hit men of a global privatization mafia for peanuts along with impunity to extort money from Karachi power consumers through fraudulent billing. He said this public service utility that was formed to facilitate citizens is now turned into a new East India Company for the Karachiites.
The labor leader said that the KE has installed new meters showing illegal and fraudulent inflated reading without getting checked them from creditable testing institution. He said bills are also being sent to the consumers without any meter checking. He said it is not possible for a labor having average income of Rs25000 to pay monthly electricity bill of Rs15000 and also meet his other expenses of life like food, education, health and transport.
NTUF Pakistan leader Aqib Hussain in his address said that the government has left the people of Karachi at the mercy of KE mafia. He said Karachi was the city of lights but the KE has made it a city of darkness. He said that due to prolonged power load shedding the perplexed citizens are becoming mental patients. He said despite prolonged interruptions in power supply heavy bills are being sent that has devastated the citizens financially. He said when a series economic crisis is brewing the inflated KE bills have made the life of citizens a living hell. He warned if the KE failed to mend its ways and continued its anti-megacity attitude the KE head office would be besieged.
Chairman Muhban e Karachi Social Organization Pakistan Hafiz Muhammad Arshad Rafique said that the K Electric in fact is a killer Electric. Many citizens have already been electrocuted due to its criminal negligence. Many consumers are thinking to commit suicide due to its unbearable electricity KE bills. He said this situation is no more tolerable for the Karachiites and they would now fight for their rights.
The rally demanded that the K-Electric should be immediately nationalized. Its corrupt administration should be tried in an open for tormenting the citizens of Karachi. All cruel taxes should be abolished. The Supreme Court of Pakistan should take a suo moto notice of the illegal billing of KE.
They demanded that a forensic audit of the KE meter should be got conducted by a third party. It should be known that who actually controls the KE. A report in this regard should be made public.
All consumers using up to 100 units should be provided electricity free of cost while Rs8 per unit should be charged from the consumers using up to 500 units. Unannounced load shedding should be stopped in the megacity.
Other speakers included Qazi Khizr vice chairman Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Sindh chapter, Meraj Siddique head of the Organization of Private Schools Management, Ali Muhammad Siddique Director Green Hand Welfare Organization, Muhammad Suhail head of Ufaq Foundation, Mehnaj Shah founder Karachi Special Welfare, Asad Warsi president Hamara Azaam Insani Huqooq Foundation, social leaders Sada Bhai, Mehtab Alam, Sarfaraz Mumtaz, Muhammad Faizan, Muhammad Suhail, Sharif Baloch and Muhammad Saqib. (PR)
_______________
