HYDERABAD - Hundreds of workers of Muttahida Qaumi Movement -Pakistan (MQM-P) on Sunday staged a token hunger strike to register their protest against unannounced power outages in different areas of the city by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO).
Members of National Assembly and Sindh Assembly, belonging to MQM-P, were present in the sit-in which lasted for around five hours.
Addressing the participants, MNA Salahuddin Ahmed said it was unfortunate that the HESCO staff repeatedly turned a deaf ear to people’s complaints for the repair of faulty transformers.
He held HESCO responsible for making the life of citizens of Sindh’s second largest city miserable by failing to stop prolonged power outages.
“Even during the emergency situation, outages last for around 48 hours and even up to 72 hours in some areas,” he claimed, adding that the power utility’s officials were not even responding to consumers’ complaints.
He demanded the federal government issue directives to the company’s management to resolve problems of people of the city on a war footing, adding, in case of failure, he would commit suicide before the parliament house.
The parliamentary leader of MQM-P in Sindh Assembly, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, while addressing the participants, said Muttahida Qaumi-Movement-Pakistan was still a strong party which was evident from the participation of thousands of people in this hunger strike camp. He appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of the situation and issue order against responsible HESCO officials who were creating difficulties for the people of Hyderabad.
Khawaja Izhar said he will remain in touch with Governor Sindh and MQM-P will boycott Sindh Assembly’s upcoming session against HESCO injustices. A large number of people including elected representatives, women, senior citizens and children were present in the hunger strike camp and chanted slogans against HESCO authorities.