KARACHI, Oct 13: Many areas of PECHS, Block 6, suffered power shutdowns more than once on Saturday. Similarly, the residents of New Karachi complained that they suffered power shutdowns every day.
They were particularly angry at the fact that the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation did not announce a loadshedding schedule which it had been carrying out for the past two weeks.
Earlier, the vehicles of the KESC remained motionless at its 53 composite complaint centres due to a strike, many localities of the city suffered long spells of power shutdown on Friday.
The worst affected area was Orangi Town, sector 1C, which remained without electricity for more than eight hours. Mohammad Rizwan, an area resident, told Dawn that having to live without electricity for hours on end was an unbearable ordeal. “I dread coming home these days because I know I will have to writhe in agony for quite some time.”
When KESC officials were asked to explain the reason of long spells of power breakdown in Orangi Town, sector 1, they said that four days before the area transformer had caught fire. “Because the spare transformers are not capable of supplying power for 24 hours, we keep the power off for some eight hours,” they said.
Mr Rizwan suggested that instead of keeping one area without power for eight hours at a stretch, the KESC should resort to loadshedding on a rotation basis.
A resident of North Nazimabad, Block H, told Dawn that his locality had been without power twice — first from 6am to 7.30am and second from 9am to 12 noon.
“We experience a power shutdown every day. If it is loadshedding, then we should be told about it,” he said.
Mohammed Muneer Haqqani, calling from PECHS, Block 6, told Dawn that he was an overseas Pakistani and was annoyed at the fact that power shutdowns in the city were so frequent and prolonged. “With such a fragile transmission and distribution system, can we attract investment to the country?” he said.
Calling from C.P. Berar Society, Block 7/8, Abdul Salam Shaikh said his locality had been without electricity since 6pm.
Another resident calling from the same area said lately his bills had almost doubled.
“We faced a great loadshedding in the month of September. Why, then, have our bills almost doubled?”
Calling from Federal B. Area, Block 10, Seema Jalil said that when she tried to contact high KESC officials, their personal assistants did not connect her with them.
“I wanted to contact high KESC staff because our complaint centres do not give a satisfactory answer,” she said.
A resident of Old Golimar told Dawn his locality had been without power for more than four hours.
