KARACHI, July 17: Many areas of the metropolis remained without electricity on Thursday, more than 30 hours after the KESC network almost collapsed during a duststorm and the ensuing downpour. As the KESC failed to rectify all faults created by widespread incidents of wire snapping, people of a vast affected area experienced shortage of water.

The administration of Karachi University had to call off evening classes due to the prolonged breakdown. About 4,000 students had to return home, said president of the Karachi University Teachers’ Society, Mr Sarwar Naseem, who pointed out that the entire residential area on the campus also was without electricity. Though the KESC authorities claimed on Thursday that most of the wire snapping-related faults had been rectified, consumers from across the city continued to complain that they were still without power since 2pm Wednesday.

The common grievance was that the staff at the KESC complaint centres were not responding properly. Some consumers also complained of low voltage in their localities.

Residents of Block 3, 4 and 4-A (Journalists Society) ofGulshan-i-Iqbal said that they remained without electricity since the gusty winds, coupled with rain, played havoc with the KESC’s feeble and crumbling 11kv distribution system.

For a few hours, between midnight and 6am, power supply played hide and seek with the consumers before going off for another long spell. Ironically, the areas around the affected blocks, and also across the Abul Hassan Isphani Road, were receiving an uninterrupted power supply.

Asad Raza Zaidi, a resident of Sohni Chalet, Scheme 33, said that the prolonged power failure had not only made thousands of people in the area to suffer the suffocating humid weather, but also caused a water crisis, especially to those living in apartments.

Mohammad Yunus of Model Colony complained that every time he approached the KESC since 2pm Wednesday, he was given a new complaint number but electricity was not restored till late Thursday night. Residents of North Karachi, sector 11-H, narrated the same ordeal and till our going to press, power was not restored to any of the two localities.

Residents of Federal B Area blocks 2, 3, 8 (Azizabad), 7, 14, 15 and 16 told Dawn that power supply to their areas was restored for a couple of hours during the Wednesday-Thursday night after a long spell of 12/13 hours. However, except for the blocks 2 and 3, where electricity played hide and seek throughout the day, supply to none of these blocks could be restored till Thursday evening. Residents of block 9 said that they were waiting for power supply ever since the first breakdown Wednesday afternoon.

Residents of Bhitai Colony, Al-Imran Apartments, sector 15 A-5, Buffer Zone were without power as the KESC failed to get a transformer fault removed. Residents of Blue Moon Apartments had the similar complaint. They pointed out that power supply to over 100 apartments had been discontinued since 11am Wednesday.

NED UNIVERSITY: Frequent power breakdowns of long duration has badly affected academic activities in the NED University of Engineering and Technology as well as life in the adjoining staff town, adds APP.