QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding 24-hour power supply across the province and the withdrawal of different taxes added to the power bills.

The resolution, moved by Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, the chief of the Haq Do Tehreek (HDT), stated that electricity is the basic necessity of the modern era, serving not only as a source of livelihood but also a crucial requirement for health and education.

Speaking on the floor of the house, Mr Rehman said Balochistan produces enough electricity for round-the-clock supply to its residents, but unfortunately, this electricity is supplied to other provinces instead and not to the people of Balochistan.

He said a lot of taxes have been imposed along with electricity charges which are making electricity extremely costly for the poor people of the province as they are unable to pay hefty bills.

“There is no power supply according to needs of the people from Chaman to Gwadar and Nasirabad, including the provincial capital Quetta,” the resolution said, adding that Makran was getting just 10MW of power supply from Iran instead of 200MW which used to be provided earlier.

The house urged the provincial government to approach the Centre and get Balochistan declared a calamity-hit area and all its outstanding electricity dues should be written off and Balochistan should be supplied electricity round the clock from the power plants working in the province.

Provincial Minister Agriculture Sardar Abdul Rahman Khetran supported the resolution and said that while the load-shedding occurs only for an hour in Lahore, the people of Balochistan receive bills in millions of rupees while getting electricity two to three hours a day.

Provincial Minister for Irrigation Mir Sadiq Umrani said that despite presence of two power plants in Naseerabad, the area suffers from load-shedding of 18 to 20 hours a day, and the chief of Qesco is unwilling to listen to complaints of people.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2024