Various teams of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) conducted surprise raids, and caught 211 consumers red-handed while stealing power, and imposed Rs 1.1 million fines on them. A team of Shamsabad subdivision caught 21 consumers stealing power, and fined them Rs 120,000.
The City subdivision team raided many areas, caught 31 consumers, and fined them Rs 165,000. A team of the Industrial Estate subdivision caught 19 power thieves and fined them Rs 80,000. A team of Mepco workers in the Gulberg subdivision caught 42 power thieves and fined them Rs 210,000. The New Multan subdivision caught 18 power thieves and fined them Rs 150,000. A team of Mumtazabad subdivision caught 21 consumers and fined them Rs 97,000.
A Nawan Shehr subdivision team caught 27 power thieves and fined them Rs 128,000. A team of the Gulgusht subdivision caught 32 consumers, fined them Rs 190,000 and disconnected their power. There is a shortage of 3000 mw of electricity at present and the duration of frequent load shedding is likely to increase, creating a lot of problems for consumers.
The office-bearers of trade organisations, Nazir Awan, Arshad Bajwa, Akhtar Butt, Sheikh Iqbal, Ataur Rehman and Gazanfar Malik have demanded of the federal government to hand over the control of Wapda and various power companies to the respective provincial governments so that electricity may be fairly distributed among the provinces as well as consumers.
Talking to newsmen here on Monday, they said that Wapda had become a white elephant and had failed to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. They demanded of the government to immediately start construction of Kala Bagh dam (KBD) and other water reservoirs to meet the growing demand of electricity. They regretted that the government had not allocated funds in the new budget for the construction of KBD.
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