KARACHI: Citizens on Thursday staged a protest sit-in against the gas load shedding and excessive bills in front of the SSGC main office in the city on the call of Jamaat-e-Islami.
The protesters also included housewives and people from the industries, who joined the sit-in against the company with the JI city's leadership and activists with placards and banners in hands.
They shouted slogans against the continuing gas load shedding and its high bills, calling the company "responsible" for the utility crisis. The angry protesters also disrupted the road traffic for a little span during the sit-in.
"People in power should realize the public pain from gas load shedding and its high prices," JI Karachi Chief, Hafiz Naeemur Rehman said during his speech at the protest.
He asked the interim rule to solve the gas issue along with other such problems that are hampering the public daily life on a regular basis, holding the successive governments "responsible" for the bad situation.
"Unfortunately the SSGCL has been following the footprints of the K-Electric to become a mafia," he alleged and said that his party will take it to the task if it ignored the public outcry.
The entire city continues to grapple with severe gas outages, he said and censured the PPP, MQM and PML-N for failing to show up to sympathize with the suffering citizens amid their daily growing woes. "These parties are far from the scene," he added.
These parties, he alleged as directly responsible for the existing challenges, saying that they enjoyed the privileges of power but never paid attention to solving the public issues and development of the city.
Citing the article 158 of the Constitution, he said that the law is clear about who should receive gas on a priority. In line with the Constitution, he said that Sindh has a priority right to be the primary recipient of the utility since it is the gas producer province.
He alleged the gas company for over billing, saying that the consumers are compelled to pay higher tariffs even for short supplies. He also asked the public to vote for his party on February 8 to empower it for a better legislation and city's development.
The JI ended its protest after the SSGC officials assured its leadership about solving the gas supply and over billing issues.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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