May 28, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 29, 1427

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LAHORE, May 27: Repeated power breakdowns and consequent water supply suspension created a great deal of inconvenience for the people in Lahore where 44.2 degrees Celsius temperature was recorded on Saturday.

Power fluctuations in many areas also posed a threat to the electronics and tripped air-conditioners and refrigerators, adding to the worries of the people in the extremely hot weather.

The power breakdowns and fluctuations affected work in offices and at business centres. Schoolchildren suffered the most as they had to stay in the classes without fans.

“I could not sleep the whole last night because of repeated tripping of my air-conditioner. The power was fluctuating, slowing down the speed of fan. And I had to switch off my refrigerator too,” a resident of Allama Iqbal Town said.

Shopkeepers at a plaza’s basement on the Hall Road said the business remained low as customers avoided entering the place in the sweltering heat, which was made worse by repeated power breakdowns.

“I feel like suffocating but I cannot abandon my shop,” a sweating shopkeeper said.

Tubewells in many localities were switched off because of the repeated power breakdowns and fluctuations to save them from being burnt. This reduced water supply to many localities, making people suffer a lot.

Washing and cooking remained a problem in localities like the walled city because of the short supply of water.

According to Lesco, there were only 50 to 55 minor trippings all over the city. The trippings were of short duration and in all the cases the supply was restored soon afterwards.

It said the city had two major trippings owing to various reasons, each lasting for around 80 minutes. The first power breakdown affected the Dars Road grid and the other Rachna town grid.

Lesco office said localities like Mozang Chungi, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Jauhar Town, Iqbal Town and Saidpur faced power fluctuations because of the overloading of the Bund Road grid station.

“Many city localities face this problem during the night, as the power consumption increases during the period. The people are consuming more power than the Lesco capacity but we are trying our best to ensure smooth supply,” an official said.