KARACHI, June 20: Power breakdowns continued to occur on Sunday despite the fact that being a holiday overall power consumption was less than usual. A complainant from Gulshan-i-Umair, KDA Scheme 33, told Dawn that his locality had been experiencing a major electricity breakdown for the previous 12 hours.

He said that the power supply to the locality, comprising around 300 houses, was suspended at 10.30am. "I called at '118' several times to lodge the complaint but could not get through as the number was continuously engaged.

At 4.10pm, the power supply to the area was restored but just for a few minutes," he said and added that his wife was a patient of carcinoma and they all were suffering due to the KESC's apathy towards the electricity problem.

Another resident of the same locality told Dawn that the local complaint centre of the KESC had been giving different reasons for the breakdown. "Initially, they told me that the area transformer had tripped, which would take two to three hours to repair.

When I called again in the evening, they said that this was a 'circuit' breakdown," he said and added that the consumers were not interested in learning about their (KESC) problems which kept on changing after every hour. "We just need an uninterrupted power supply," he remarked.

A resident of Gulshan-i-Maymar told Dawn that his locality had experienced a four-hour power breakdown because of the tripping of a transformer. "When I lodged a complaint, I was told that the work on the faulty electrical device was on and power supply would be restored within an hour.

When I called after an hour, the KESC official on duty told me another story. He said that the repair of a transformer usually takes more than two hours. But, the power supply remained suspended for about four hours," he said.

Another resident of the same locality said that he asked his regional complaint centre why electricity from some other feeder could not be diverted to Gulshan-i-Maymar while the faulty transformer was being repaired. "The KESC official said that power consumption in the neighbouring localities was so high that electricity supply could not be diverted to Gulshan-i-Maymar," he said.

Arif Zaman, residing in Federal B Area's Block-2, told Dawn that his area had been without electricity for the previous four hours. He said, "I am continuously dialling at the telephone numbers of complaint centres, printed on the back of electricity bills, but, all the numbers are engaged."

Around 6.30pm, he said, the power supply was suspended and even after lapse of more than four hours, the KESC officials could not rectify the fault. From Parsi Colony, a caller told Dawn that he was most upset about the power breakdowns in summer.

"I am an old man and I have been living in this city for a very long time. Over the years the government should have improved the performance of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation.

In the past - say, 20 years ago - the city did not experience as many power breakdowns as it does today. Things are changing for the worse," he said. A complainant from Model Colony told Dawn that his locality, Kazimabad, had been facing power breakdowns at night for the last two weeks.

He said, "When I called the area complaint centre, I was told that there was no load shedding going on in Kazimabad. If it is so, I can't understand why power supply to our locality gets suspended at the same time every night."

A resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Block 14, said he had faced a power cut early in the morning. "After a massive power shutdown of yesterday we had thought that we would not have a power shutdown any more. But, the power breakdown today lasted longer than yesterday's," he said.

A resident called from Korangi and said that attendants at the complaint centre of his area were extremely rude. "The Korangi complaint centre of the KESC must be the only centre where political considerations mattered until recently.

Residents feel that some of these people were inducted because of their political association. Now these officials feel that they can misbehave with ordinary residents," he said.