QUETTA: Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Petroleum and Power, has said that uninterrupted gas and power supply would be ensured to all parts of Balochistan.

Speaking at a press conference after attending a meeting of senior officials of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) here on Monday, he said that he had taken over new responsibilities and “my aim is to immediately resolve all problems being faced by the people of Balochistan in the power and petroleum sector”.

Balochistan SSGC General Manager Madni Siddique and other senior officials concerned attended the meeting and briefed Sardar Rind on the performance of the SSGC in the province.

“Problems of Balochistan cannot be resolved if we follow the traditional style of working,” Sardar Rind said, adding that the people were paying much more in the form of different taxes and it was the responsibility of the state to serve its citizens.

Sardar Rind was informed that the SSGC was incurring annual losses of Rs6 billion which is 49 per cent of gas supply.

“A large number of consumers are either defaulters or involved in gas theft in the province and this situation is causing huge losses to the SSGC and despite that the organisation is trying its best to provide maximum services to the masses,” he said.

He said that all hurdles in the supply of power and gas would be removed to ensure smooth supply of gas and electricity across the province.

Sardar Rind said that a complaint cell comprising SSGC officials and people from other departments would be set up to immediately resolve problems being faced by the masses.

“We want to make such a system that every complaint of the people about gas and electricity is looked into and immediately resolved,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2019