KARACHI, June 12: Many areas faced intermittent power breakdowns on Wednesday as the temperature stood at 36 degrees centigrade.

People calling from Clifton, Defence, Nazimabad, Muslimabad (New M.A. Jinnah Road), Federal B Area, North Nazimabad and Lea Market told Dawn that they had faced power shutdowns.

Abrar Karim Khan, calling from Nazimabad, Block 2, said that every day his locality had a power cut at least thrice, lasting more than two hours. “The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation puts down power breakdowns to the heatwave, ignoring the fact that in Lahore the power supply is not as bad as in Karachi.”

Mr Khan said that unannounced loadshedding had damaged home appliances of a large number of people who could take the KESC to court for this.

A resident of Federal B Area, Block 19, wondered why the KESC claimed that it was not carrying out any loadshedding. “Last night, the locality on our left remained without electricity from 11pm to midnight. On the dot of midnight, the area on our right plunged into darkness and the area on our left regained its power supply. We thought that soon it would be our turn to lose electricity. Sure enough, at 2am the area on our right regained its power supply and we lost it.”

A resident of North Nazimabad, Block H, told Dawn that his locality had been without electricity for more than three hours early in the morning. “Apart from the major breakdown, we also had brief power cuts, lasting five to ten minutes. Such brief power cuts cannot be power breakdowns because they cannot be removed so soon. They cannot be loadshedding either.”

Meanwhile, a press release issued by the power utility said that KESC-AMT teams under a phased programme were removing kundas — illegal connections for electricity — in various parts of the city on Wednesday.

The press release, quoting a spokesman, said that the Kunda removal campaign started by the KESC with the support of Army Monitoring Teams since Monday was continuing successfully in Korangi, Organgi and Gulistan-i-Jauhar.

The KESC customers having proper connections were fully supporting the action and volunteering help to the disconnection teams, he said.

During the last three days, the spokesman said, 300 illegal connection had been removed. He said the AMTs would also monitor these areas so that illegal electricity consumers might not again put up the Kunda.

According to him strict action for electricity theft would be taken against those caught re-hooking the removed connection.

He said after the induction of army into the KESC, over 100,000 illegal connections had been removed as the city had been infested with 450,000 hook connections and theft of electricity had been considered a hobby rather than a crime.

In 1999 the programme began under the “Snake Hunt” scheme which was discontinued after some time.

Later, Kundas were replaced under pilot project of defeating Kunda technically by taking the 11 KV overhead power supply line in parts of Surjani Town, Tauhid Colony, Khawaja Ajmer Nagri and Bhittaiabad.

The 11 KV lines, because of being high voltage, could not be hooked and consumed directly. The project was pending due to financial constraints, he explained.

He said that replacement of fixed contact of a switch of the transformer would be done. The affected areas are F.C. Area, Chandani Chowk, Sindhi Hotel, Super Market, Nazimabad No 3 & 4, Rizvia Society and Gulbahar.