KARACHI: Dozens of Jamaat-i-Islami workers staged a sit-in outside Governor House on Saturday against K-Electric for ‘overbilling’, power outages and other issues related to the private electricity utility.

The party denounced the ‘high tariff’ and ‘exorbitant billing’ being done by KE for the past five years.

The protest demonstration was part of JI’s campaign against the power utility launched two months ago.

Holding placards and banners, JI workers chanted slogans against KE and demanded government action against the company.

“We believe that power tariff should be decreased as K-Electric has cheated 25 million residents of Karachi and unfortunately the regulatory body has done nothing,” said Karachi JI chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rahman while addressing the sit-in.

“Now in the next phase we would approach the Supreme Court. We have already launched a ‘one-million petition drive’ as part of our campaign against loadshedding and overbilling by K-Electric.”

He said the party would continue its protest against K-Electric till it reached its logical end and appealed to the people of Karachi to come out of their homes to raise voice against ‘illegal’ activities of the utility.

He said the JI was close to meeting its target of one-million petition drive as people from all districts and neighbourhoods of the city were approaching the party with complaints of overbilling and consistent power outages.

“That’s why we say that it’s the common issue of every Karachiite, but unfortunately [those] who are in power and in opposition, claiming to have mandate of this city, are doing only lip service for this basic right of Karachiites,” he added.

Due to the protest traffic congestion was witnessed on Abdullah Haroon Road, Club Rd and adjacent link roads, including Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Rd, I.I. Chundrigar Rd, M.R. Kiyani Rd and Sarwar Shaheed Rd.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2017