HYDERABAD: Residents of various localities in Hyderabad took to the streets and lit bonfires on Friday to vent their anger over power outage after the utility failed to restore supply for 36 hours.

The protesters kept raising slogans against the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and demanding immediate restoration of the supply.

UC-21 chairman Kashif Siddiqui, speaking to protesters at Railway Colony on Shah Makki Road, said that Hesco’s Gari Khata subdivision disconnected the 11kV transmission line unnecessarily rendering the area without power. He said a 36-hour outage caused miseries to the affected consumers who took to the streets, blocked the main Shah Makki Road and raised slogans against Hesco. He said rainwater could also not be drained out from the area.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MPA Rashid Khilji proceeded to the troubled area, held talks with the protesters and persuaded them to disperse peacefully. Residents of Shahi Bazaar and Sarrafa Bazaar also held a similar protest at Dau Qabar Chowk over Hesco team’s “demand for money to replace the out-of-order pole-mounted transformer (PMT)”.

Protest against prolonged power suspension was also held at Faqir ka Pir Chowk where protesters blocked the road and caused disruption in flow of vehicular traffic. Enraged protesters even did not allow fire tenders to move out of fire station.

Another protest was held by power consumers in Hirabad against a 24-hour outage. Residents of the Khuda Hafiz Board locality in Latifabad blocked a main road over prolonged power breakdown in Dastagir Colony and its surrounding areas. They said power went off on Thursday and could not be restored till Friday evening. Residents of Latifabad, Unit No 7 also blocked a road with burning tyres at Anarkali Centre against power suspension for 36 hours.

A Hesco spokesman, meanwhile, claimed that supply to consumers in its entire region had been restored. He said there was an issue of replacement of transformers at three locations — Amani Shah Colony, Khokhar Mohalla and Paretabad. At Anarkali Centre, the issue was of illegal connections and default on bills, he said.

The transformer at Dau Qabar had burnt out due to overloading, he said, adding that a trolley-mounted transformer would be provided to the locality.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2020