MIRPURKHAS, Oct 13: Unannounced and prolonged power outages continued on Monday in four districts of lower Sindh causing hardships to people as water supply was disrupted to the cities and towns and business activities were also adversely affected.

After Eidul Fitr, the Hesco authorities have increased the duration of unannounced load-shedding to 12 hours daily in Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar and Sanghar districts.

As a result water supply to the cities and towns also got affected. Small industries including chakkis, oil spillers and ice factories mostly remained closed.

Patients in the hospitals were the worst-sufferers of the outages.

Mirpurkhas Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Abdul Khaliq Khan has demanded of the Hesco authorities to reduce load-shedding duration and to notify load-shedding schedule.

Prolonged power breakdown have almost paralysed routine activities in Qambar, Shahdadkot and adjoining areas while people of Larkana braved yet another day of unscheduled load-shedding.

In Qambar power supply remained suspended from 12 noon to 4pm. Power went off again at 4.45 pm and was not restored till the filing this report.

Farmers’ leader Mithal Khoso said the staff at local grid station said that supply had been snapped from Hyderabad’s load distribution station.

Drains are also overflowing in the town as drainage network’s motors remained inoperative due to power failure.

In Shahdadkot, the situation was almost the same as the reports said that the town could hardly get 12 to 14 hours of uninterrupted power supply.

In Dadu 10-hour-long loadshedding is affecting the business badly, said sources. Businessmen and political activists staged a protest demonstration on Monday against prolonged and persistent loadshedding.

They said that the daily 10-hour loadshedding by Hesco has left water supply schemes redundant resulting in acute water shortage. People are deprived of even drinking water.