KARACHI: Fault renders major part of city without electricity: Loadshedding as usual
By Arman Sabir
KARACHI, July 1: An extra high-tension line of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation snapped early in the morning suspending power supply to a major portion of the city on Saturday.
Residents of Gulbahar and Rizvia, already frustrated after suffering prolonged power breakdowns for many days, came out of their homes and staged protest soon after the power supply was discontinued.
They lit bonfire and littered the Nawab Siddique Ali Khan Road with bricks. The road remained blocked for six hours, from 6:30am 12:30pm. Police reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The protesters dispersed after power supply to the area was restored.
KESC officials said that the extra high-tension line of 132kv, between KDA and Gulshan grids, snapped as its conductor went out of order at around 6:15am. Due to the fault, power supply to the areas including Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, parts of North Nazimabad, Federal B Area, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, etc., was suspended.
They said that the engineers and the workers of the utility went to the spot and rectified the fault by 10:30am and the electricity supply was restored gradually to all the affected areas.
However, the KESC continued to implement its load-shedding programme across the city under which a minimum of two-hour cut each during the day and night is applied to meet the power shortfall.
Angry consumers, calling the newspaper offices, expressed the view that the authorities concerned must get them rid of the persisting power failures instead of trying to sooth people with their stereo-typed statements.
They said that the president, prime minister, Sindh governor and all others at the helm of the affairs were doing nothing but lip-service.
Their reaction came as there was no respite from the prolonged power failures on Saturday despite the intervention of the president and prime minister who, on Friday, took serious notice of the situation.
A resident of Sector 11-A, North Karachi, Prof Abdul Mateen, said that KESC officials were just blaming the system to cover up their inefficiency. He said that the power supply was suspended in his locality at midnight and restored at 5am. The power supply was again discontinued at 3pm for two hours. Due to the low-voltage, the UPS at home also could not charge the battery, he added.
Ms Raheela from Clifton Block-2 said that the intermittent power failures had made the life miserable. Mr Adeel from Defence Phase IV said that unannounced power failures twice in a day had become a routine.
A resident of Phase VI of the same area, Mr Shakeel, said that power supply was suspended first for three hours and again for two hours during the night.
Mr Saquib from Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 13/D/III, said that power went off early in the morning for four hours. It was restored at 1pm, stayed for a while and went off again for half an hour.
Mr Muzaffar from Block 4-A, Gulshan Iqbal, said that power kept playing hide-and-seek since morning till 3pm. It went off in the afternoon and could not be restored till late in the night.
Mr Shahid said that power supply to his area, Metroville III, near Gulshan-i-Iqbal, was suspended at around 9am and restored after three hours. It was again suspended at 2:30pm for half an hour.
A resident of Block 3, F B Area, said that power went off at 5:45am for five hours. Restored at 10:45am, it was again suspended at 3:15pm for another two hours.
A resident of Block 15 of the same area said that power supply was discontinued at 12:15pm and restored at 3:30pm.
GOVERNOR: Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad on Saturday thanked President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for their assurance of resolving power crisis in Karachi, adds PPI.
In a statement, Ishratul Ibad expressed hope that the supply of 100-megawatt additional power to the KESC would help to a great extent in overcoming load-shedding problem in the city.
Federal Water and Power Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi told newsmen earlier in the day in Islamabad that Wapda would provide 100 megawatts more electricity to the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation.
The governor expressed hope that the KESC management would take necessary measures to improve the situation.
KARACHI, July 1: An extra high-tension line of the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation snapped early in the morning suspending power supply to a major portion of the city on Saturday.
