KARACHI, June 12: Enraged citizens stormed KESC complaint centres in many parts of the city and burnt tyres on the streets on Tuesday, provoked by the utility’s continued failure to improve the power supply situation as Karachi witnessed another day of extensive load-shedding.

Violent reaction to the KESC’s load-shedding, as the shortfall touched 600 megawatts, was witnessed at Valika Chowrangi and Banaras roundabout in the morning, even though high-ups at the utility had on Monday assured the Sindh governor that they would rectify the situation.

Incensed residents claimed that they had been without power from 5am till noon, although the KESC chief had promised on Monday that one of the units at Bin Qasim power plant would be commissioned the same evening. But this never materialised. People felt that the KESC was not only deceiving the general public, but also the governor of Sindh.

Similar violent reactions were witnessed in several areas of Lyari including Baghdadi, Moosa Lane, Nawabad, Daryabad, Kalri, Singhoo Lane, Chakiwara, and Kalakot. Angry citizens tried to block the movement of a KESC vehicle, which was sent to attend to the faults. But saner elements prevailed, after which the vehicle was allowed to proceed. Due to the power outage the functioning of the telephone exchange was also affected and traffic signals were not working. Trouble was also reported from Mauripur and Nishtar Road.

Angry protestors pelted stones and obstructed traffic on Jehangir Road near Teen Hatti, Guru Mandir and Gulbahar. People chanted slogans against the utility and demanded the reversal of its privatisation and punishment to those who were responsible for its operations and management. They also demanded that the Federal Minister for Water and Power, Liaquat Jatoi, be sacked.

Other parts of the city such as Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Defence, Clifton, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, New Karachi and the adjoining areas also suffered from several extensive bouts of load-shedding. On an average there was no electricity for more than 14 hours during the day. All these areas also suffered from an acute water shortage.

In response to the violence, the Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Home Affairs, Waseem Akhther, has directed all TPOs to avoid lobbing tear-gas shells and the use of strong-arm tactics against people reacting to the power outages. According to a press release the police have been advised to coordinate with the public representatives of the area to resolve the situation.

Meanwhile, voltage fluctuations were rampant and many people claimed that their electrical appliances were damaged due to the frequent power outages and fluctuations.

According to sources, the KESC chief had assured the governor on the hope that Unit 4 of the Bin Qasim power-plant would be back on-line, which did not happen even on Tuesday.

But apparently the governor was given the wrong information as Unit 3 of the Bin Qasim plant was not reactivated before noon on Tuesday, while unit 4 has not yet been commissioned.