Protesters claim power outages up to 24 hours
Residents say power utility demands bribes for restoration of electricity.
SUKKUR:
Hundreds of residents of New Pind took to the streets today protesting against long and undeclared power outages and the breakdown of transformers in their area.
The citizens were led by Sohail Mahar, Irshad Shaikh and Muzaffar Ali and chanted slogans against the Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco). The protesters said that they have been without electricity in their area for the past 24 hours and Sepco officials are apathetic to their situation. Two faulty transformers of Mahar mohalla and Brohi mohalla broke down two weeks ago but they have yet to be repaired.
Sepco officials were demanding bribes for the repair of the transformers, said the protesting citizens. The residents of the area had arranged Rs8,000 which were paid to the officials after which the transformers were repaired, but they broke down again three days ago. After the residents complained, the officials demanded more money in order to repair them again.
Since the advent of the summer, Sepco has resorted to undeclared load shedding due to which the residents of New Pind only manage to get water once a week. The protesters warned that so far they were showing restraint and protesting peacefully but if their situation did not change then their means of protest might also become violent. Sepco would be responsible for this eventuality. Despite repeated attempts, the Sepco Executive Engineer Operation Abdul Ghani Shaikh was not available for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2011.
cil.�Nee�?837 manage to market the play, you will definitely make a profit.”
What impresses Bukhari, however, is the willingness of Karachi’s audience, something that he does not see in Lahore or Islamabad. “Around 10,000 to 12,000 people attended Bombay Dreams, which is a big thing for a city that is full of people from such different social classes and ethnic groups. Now that a new wave of contemporary theatre has taken up the city, the audience will only get bigger.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2011.
Hundreds of residents of New Pind took to the streets today protesting against long and undeclared power outages and the breakdown of transformers in their area.
The citizens were led by Sohail Mahar, Irshad Shaikh and Muzaffar Ali and chanted slogans against the Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco). The protesters said that they have been without electricity in their area for the past 24 hours and Sepco officials are apathetic to their situation. Two faulty transformers of Mahar mohalla and Brohi mohalla broke down two weeks ago but they have yet to be repaired.
Sepco officials were demanding bribes for the repair of the transformers, said the protesting citizens. The residents of the area had arranged Rs8,000 which were paid to the officials after which the transformers were repaired, but they broke down again three days ago. After the residents complained, the officials demanded more money in order to repair them again.
Since the advent of the summer, Sepco has resorted to undeclared load shedding due to which the residents of New Pind only manage to get water once a week. The protesters warned that so far they were showing restraint and protesting peacefully but if their situation did not change then their means of protest might also become violent. Sepco would be responsible for this eventuality. Despite repeated attempts, the Sepco Executive Engineer Operation Abdul Ghani Shaikh was not available for comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2011.
cil.�Nee�?837 manage to market the play, you will definitely make a profit.”
What impresses Bukhari, however, is the willingness of Karachi’s audience, something that he does not see in Lahore or Islamabad. “Around 10,000 to 12,000 people attended Bombay Dreams, which is a big thing for a city that is full of people from such different social classes and ethnic groups. Now that a new wave of contemporary theatre has taken up the city, the audience will only get bigger.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 8th, 2011.