KARACHI, April 25: The city sizzled on Thursday as the temperature rose to 41 degrees Centigrade and the transmission and distribution system of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation broke down, once again.
Sources in the KESC blamed Thursday’s temperature — which equalled that of April 2 and was termed the hottest day of the season — for the prolonged and intermittent power failures which plagued the lives of the Karachiites.
They said the KESC’s centralized complaint centre, better known as 118, had received complaints of power failure from Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, North Nazimabad, Federal B Area, North Karachi, Jutland Lines, Manzoor Colony, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, New Karachi, Saddar, Model Colony, Rizvia Society and Lyari.
Students of the University of Karachi said they had gone to the campus to take their examination of MA (previous). “For more than one hour, our examination centre remained without electricity. The KESC should have at least some sympathy for examinees.” They added that the power shutdown at the University of Karachi must have affected more than 400 students taking the examination.
One very irate Salma Shakeel called from Defence, Phase 5 Extension, Saba Avenue, and said she wanted to protest the high- handedness of the KESC staff in the strongest possible words. She added she had a power shutdown every day and whenever the KESC staff were told about her problem they wanted to know all over again what her problem was.
She said that due to fluctuations in power supply her air- conditioner had burnt recently. The jumper of her locality had apparently broken down.
“The KESC staff do not solve the problems of taxpayers because they couldn’t care less,” she said angrily.
A resident of Jutland Lines informed Dawn that the large number of Kundas (illegal connections) caused power breakdowns in his area. He said he wondered why the KESC did nothing to remove the illegal power connections and provide new connections.
A very angry resident of North Karachi, Sector 11-A, told Dawn that houses in his street had been without power since the previous day. He added that he had lodged complaints with his regional complaint centre, at 118 and at 134. Nothing, he said, had been done by the KESC to restore his power supply.
A resident of Parsi Colony said that her locality faced a power shutdown during the previous night.
A resident of North Nazimabad, Block A, said that at least three other blocks of his area — Blocks L, M, N — had been without power the previous night.
