KARACHI, Sept 22: People in different parts of the city continued to suffer power outages on Saturday and complained about the indifferent attitude of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation which failed to keep its promise of uninterrupted power supply during Ramazan.
Though the KESC CEO had already warned that load-shedding might not end before the next five years when new units would be added to upgrade the generation and transmission system, the utility functionaries promised that they would ensure uninterrupted power supply during the holy month.
With the Eid shopping spree gaining momentum, there is likelihood of an outbreak of power riots in the city by the protesting traders whose business has been affected by power outages.
The KESC’s Ramazan incentive package does not seem to be working properly as the enraged traders say they are unable to get the proper service despite paying huge taxes to the government. The traders’ organizations have been staging peaceful protests against the KESC whom they blame for damaging their business. Their contention was that the commercial areas were being deprived of electricity against the promises made earlier.
Angry traders said besides normal life, business and industrial activities in Karachi had been affected by what they termed a deliberate neglect and corrupt practices of the KESC staff, particularly those associated with its technical side. They urged President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to intervene and address the problem which had hit the country’s industrial production and export. Besides, they demanded legal action against those responsible for ruining the corporation, affecting the trade and industrial activities, and causing a colossal loss to national exchequer.
Angry consumers from Defence, Clifton, Federal B Area, Nazimabad, North Nazimabad, Orangi, Safoora Goth, Sohrab Goth, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Malir, Korangi and localities along Sharea Pakistan, Sharea Faisal and the National Highway complained that the KESC was resorting to power outages of long duration for several times a day.
A housewife from Parsi Colony complained that the locality had been facing power outages since Thursday. She complained that the supply was restored only for an hour four times a day. She said the residents had made several attempts to draw the attention of authorities, but there was no respite in their sufferings at all.
KESC consumers held KESC technical staff responsible for the problem, saying that 90 per cent of the power units were not operating to their optimum capacity due to their neglect.
The problem in Defence and Clifton persists because the utility has not been able to properly rectify various faults that were caused by the downpour many weeks back. Insiders blame the “clash of vested interests” between the privatised Siemens-led management and the “old guards” of the KESC on the one hand and the infighting between different groups with political backing in the corporation on the other for the persisting power crisis.