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HYDERABAD, Oct 19: A major power breakdown hit several cities of the interior of Sindh on Saturday morning.
The cities of Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas, Thatta, Sanghar, Badin, Umerkot, Naukot and Tando Mohammad Khan, and their adjoining areas, were badly affected by the breakdown.
The power breakdown also affected water supply in the areas.
The breakdown occurred at 3am “due to fog”, claimed Hesco chief engineer Abdul Rasheed Khan. It continued till 9.30am when the situation “normalized after sun rise”, added the superintending engineer of the grid system operation.
The SE claimed that due to thick fog, 132KV and 66,000 transmission lines got tripped in the cities, disrupting the power supply.
Initially, the fault occurred in Thatta, followed by breakdowns in Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin, Mirpurkhas and other areas, he concluded.
In Hyderabad, except for the areas which were receiving electricity through Qasimabad grid station, the rest of the district was affected, the SE confirmed.
DETENTION ALLEGED: Hesco chief engineer has alleged that the SDO of Bhit Shah sub-division of Hesco, Abdul Qayoom Bhurgari, was detained for several hours by Nazim, union council, Bhit Shah, Syed Ghulam Raza Shah, on Oct 16.
Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, he alleged that the SDO was humiliated because he had detected power theft by Syed Ashiq Hussain Shah and Nisar Shah, the brother-in-law and the brother of Ghulam Raza, respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, the SDO alleged that he found a meter of Ashiq Hussain reversed and a hole in another meter of Nisar Shah was during routine checking of meters.
He claimed that when he called Ashiq Hussain, he was forcibly taken to the residence of Ghulam Raza.
He concluded that on Friday, Syed Mazhar Shah, the gaddi nasheen of the shrine of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and the brother of Ghulam Raza, visited his office and tendered an apology on behalf of his brothers.
The chief engineer of Hesco said that an FIR would be lodged against the Nazim, UC, Bhit Shah, and others involved in the incident.
NAZIM’S VERSION: Talking to Dawn, Ghulam Raza said that Hesco chief executive, during his visit to his union council, had asked him and the XEN to conduct inquiry against the SDO in view of public complaints against him.
He said that since then the SDO had been nursing grudge against him and had begun conducting raids on the houses of his family.
He said that the SDO had exchanged hot words with his brother-in-law over his electricity meter and the matter was reported to him at his residence. He said that the dispute was resolved amicably.
He said that the next day his brother apologized to the SDO, who said that he had been misguided by some people.
It is learnt that Hyderabad district Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman talked to Hesco chief but the matter remained unresolved as Hesco officials have approached the DPO, Hyderabad, for registration of an FIR.
Hesco officials have left for Bhit Shah to register a case in this connection.
