LARKANA: As many as 35 tube-wells are dysfunctional in about 20 villages since a year due to 22 hours of electricity load shedding and the relevant higher federal government authorities have taken no notice so far causing tremendous hardships to the poor peasants, villagers and growers.
This high-handedness came to light when the affected villagers came out of their villages, held a large protest demonstration by blocking Larkana-Sukkur Highway at Agani village Laro by burning bushes. They also later on staged a sit-in demanding provision of basic rights shouting slogans for acceptance of their just demand near here on Saturday.
Due to road blocking all kinds of traffic came to standstill to and from Sukkur causing serious hardships to the commuters in this sizzling hot weather as rows of vehicles were seen stuck up. These villages include Aghani, Paro Jo Goth, Kehar, Metla, Shaikh village, Nanda and Wada Agani and other villages.
Protesters Hazar Khan Agani, Zamir Agani, Syed Ibrahim Shah and others alleged that two hours power supply is made during night time out of 24 hours to their villages which too is always facing tripping faults due to which many Pole-Mounted Transformers (PMTs) have burnt which are got repaired by the villagers from their own pocket and the SEPCO linemen are busy in corruption.
They said PMTs are repaired by a private mechanic from Punjab who in connivance with SEPCO staff is charging a heavy amount but even then, the repaired PMTs are not functioning properly and become non-operational within a few days. They claimed that over one million rupees are paid as monthly bills by the villagers but even then SEPCO staff is constantly harassing them without any justification.
They said due to massive outage their guava orchids, rose gardens and vegetable fields have become arid due to water scarcity and dysfunctional tube-wells which cannot be operated without electricity supply and watercourses and canals have become dry.
They said that villagers have always been treated step-motherly but now we will not sit silent and continue their protests for seeking their just rights. They urged higher federal government authorities to take immediate notice of the misdeeds and corruption committed by the SEPCO authorities, Naundero, and take them to task so that the poor should not suffer for the sheer negligence of others.