LAHORE, Feb 2: As avid kite-flyers took to their roofs to rehearse for Basant on Sunday, those who stayed indoors saw intermittent power breakdowns.
Kite-flying with metal wires caused more than 1,100 minor trippings in the city from 8am to 8pm. The minor trippings are those that cause power interruption for less than 20 minutes. These trippings normally don’t go beyond 100. Even on a day of routine kite-flying, such trippings don’t exceed 300. This Sunday broke the record.
In addition to minor trippings, at least 48 major power breakdowns that affected almost all parts of the city were reported in 12 hours of the day. These breakdowns last from a minimum of 20 minutes to a few hours and normally don’t exceed five to 10.
Once a feeder trips, the Lahore Electric Supply Company staff has to patrol the entire line, remove the fault and restore the supply.
Talking to Dawn, Lesco Chief Brig Riaz Ahmad Khan Toor said the company was being stretched beyond its limits by the metal kite flyers. He added the company had no remote control arrangement to cope with the situation. Stopping kite-flying with metal wires was the best way to remedy it, he said.
He said the northern Lahore remained worst offender on Sunday. Although the company restored the electricity within maximum 80 minutes, it tested its manpower to its limits. “If there are 50 one-hour breakdowns, it cost Rs2.5 million to the company,” he said.
“In fact the entire city has been motivated by advertising for Jashn-i-Baharan. No pole in the city is without hoardings or banners,” he said. The kite-flyers enjoyed the day for which Lesco paid the price, Brig Riaz lamented.
He also said people should realize that no company on earth would be able to deal with such a situation, if there was no community check. He urged the people to join hands with the company and stop use of metal wire in kite-flying.
The Lahorites also spent a day without water, as in most parts the water supplies are linked to electricity.
The worst hit localities were Bhatti Gate, Bilal Ganj, Gulshan Ravi, Taxali gate, Islampura, Santnagar, Multan Road, Wahdat Road, Baghbanpura and Township.