Electricity Riots In Multan, Pakistan, Target Company Offices, Vehicles

Power riots in Multan on Monday have done a lot of damage – Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) office was attacked, vehicles burnt and banks and stores looted. A probe into the incident is overdue but what is worrisome is that the Wapda employees’ union has threatened to cut off power supplies to the entire city of Multan if the culprits are not nabbed and tried.

The All Pakistan Power Looms Association (APPLA) had threatened two days earlier of encircling the Mepco headquarters but the city administration did not make necessary arrangements to keep the protest peaceful. The police arrived only when the damage had been done and the regional police officer told the media that a case would be registered against rioters under Anti-Terrorism Act.

Though Prime Minister Gillani has rightly appealed to the people to remain calm and patient till the government finds a way out of the energy crisis, the fact remains that the power crisis is serious and, as the minister of water and power has said, will at least take two years to be resolved.

No major power project in Pakistan has been launched in the last 20 years. The previous government that boasted of attaining eight percent annual growth rate also failed to do so. Instead, it promised to supply electricity to each household by the end of 2008.

EDIT

http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=155688&catid=11

Water empire.