In the heat: Locals keep long fasts in dark

DI Khan and Tank residents say there is no electricity or low voltage in their area

DI KHAN: In the midst of a scorching heatwave, people are fasting in the southern districts of Tank and DI Khan despite the fact that power outages are persisting for prolonged periods.

Residents of the area begin and open their fasts in darkness. “There is not only load-shedding, but a low voltage issue, making life difficult for locals,” said Abdullah Khan, a resident of Parowa tehsil of DI Khan.

“Besides a heatwave, but people are facing immense difficulty preparing sehri in the dark,” the resident added.

Parowa tehsil nazim Imtiaz Baloch visited the Wapda office in DI Khan City and informed officials of the difficulties faced by people in Ramazan.

He stressed there must be an uninterrupted supply of power during the month to facilitate those fasting.



The Fatha feeder has remained faulty, leaving many villages without electricity.

Low voltage and load-shedding are issues that continue in other parts of DI Khan as well.

Tank, in particular, is facing a low voltage problem. The scorching weather has added to the miseries of locals in Ramazan.

“It is too hot and difficult to keep fasting in such weather, therefore we need complete electricity,” added Muhammad Jan, a resident of Tank City. “The electricity issue remains unresolved, despite our complaints and protests.”

In DI Khan and Tank, not only are those who are fasting affected, but also the business community is suffering.

Those who can afford it purchase solar panels to fulfill their power needs. Curses at the government and power authorities are now commonplace in Tank as people are tired of having to keep long fasts. Nowadays, people also seldom protest against the outages as they are fasting.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.