Load-shedding brings Lyari residents to KE office

Negotiations continued late into Monday as residents want exemption from power cuts

KARACHI: A large number of Lyari residents staged a sit-in outside the K-Electric (KE) head office at Punjab Chowrangi in DHA as they protested continuous load-shedding in the unforgiving heat.

The protest began at around 4pm on Monday outside the KE office in DHA Phase IV and lasted well into the evening as protesters insisted the electricity utility exempt the neighbourhood from power outages at night.

The sit-in came following a three-day ultimatum given to KE by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Javed Nagori, who belongs to Lyari, and 14 union council chairmen. On Monday, Nagori led the hundreds of protesters to the KE office since the utility had failed to act on their ultimatum.

One of the main concerns raised by the protesters was unscheduled load-shedding. It is sad that whether it is the law and order situation or the provision of utilities, the people of Lyari always suffer, claimed Nagori as he addressed the crowd. "We are here to protest the unjustified load-shedding that lasts more than 12 hours," he said.

The crowd, comprising men, women and children, attracted people from all walks of life. A social worker from the neighbourhood, Baji Bilqees, shared that the people of Lyari mostly belong to the labour class. When they arrive back home after a long day at work, they find their homes with no electricity for the whole night, she pointed out, adding that it is very difficult for children to attend school after staying up the whole night.

Another PPP MPA from Lyari, Saniya Naz, also spoke to the protesters. The people of Lyari keep expecting that things will improve in the future but every time they are disappointed, she said. "This is the limit of atrocities [inflicted] on the innocent people of Lyari," she claimed, pointing out that the authorities keep in mind that the holy month of Ramazan is arriving soon and things can become worse if the load-shedding schedule remains the same.

Later, Nagori spoke to The Express Tribune about the intolerable load-shedding being conducted during the night. "We want no load-shedding at night and will discuss other issues later," he said, adding that no electricity also means there is no water supply. After being denied the basic necessities of life, the people of Lyari are being deprived of basic human rights, he claimed.

For its part, KE denied there is any load-shedding in Lyari apart from the three spells of 2.5 hours each. Out of 700 pole-mounted transformers in Lyari, 90 are load-shedding free, said KE chief marketing and communications officer Fakhar Ahmed.

Ahmed also said that there are severe issues of dues collection in Lyari. KE needs to recover Rs8 billion worth of dues from Lyari, he pointed out. On the protesters gathered outside their office late on Monday evening, Ahmed said that they were in talks with Nagori and expected the issue to be resolved soon. In a statement released on Monday evening, KE announced that they cannot stop load-shedding in Lyari permanently.

Traffic jam

As Lyari residents protested, traffic remained suspended from the Punjab Chowrangi signal in DHA Phase IV till Qayyumabad Chowrangi, Traffic policemen stationed on the site said they are trying their best to ensure smooth flow of traffic but that they were helpless in the face of such a large crowd.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2016.