LARKANA: Central President, Sindh-Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association, Qamaruddin Gopang, General Secretary Asad Ali Tunio, Sabir Abbasi, Sajid Memon and others in a press conference held at Larkana Press Club here on Saturday once again urged the Power Distributing Companies (PDCs) to withdraw additional bills sent to them or a massive protest will be held on 18th December.
They said that their organization consists of more than 2500 mills where more than 0.5 million labourers are employed. They said that instead of solving the issues, the federal government had shown lukewarm attitude and forced the millers, traders, workers, farmers and growers to commit suicide.
They said that they were always informed that after the passage of the 18th amendment, the provinces would solve their problems but electricity load shedding was still being carried out. They said that due to the unresolved issues, the country’s agriculture-related institutions have not contacted us to formulate any policy to help us get out of the economic crisis.
They alleged that everyday, many new taxes are being imposed on mills by the federation and provinces, including Sindh Environmental Protection Agency, Property Tax, Excise Tax, Municipal Tax, Sindh Building Control Authority, Sindh Food Authority, Sindh Food Department, Income Tax, Old Age Department, metering agency, market committee, banking, labor department, purchase and sale matters and the biggest problem is with WAPDA.
They said that two taxes have been imposed on the last two electricity bills under forced SRO against which we have been giving notice of protest but no one is listening. They said that we do not want to create problems for national institutions by stopping the bill payments deliberately. They said that we have written many letters to the prime minister, federal minister and secretary, ministry of water and power and heads of various PDCs without any result so far. They said instead of any remedy, heavy bills have been issued which is very astonishing. They said that after the destruction of the flash floods and destructive rains, the crops and the machinery in the mills have been damaged to the tune of crores of rupees which they should also realize.
They demanded of PDCs to have negotiations with them immediately, withdraw the additional bills and provide relief to them, otherwise, they warned that they will be forced to increase the scope of their protest after 18th December.