Residents without electricity for 17 days

Protests against power outages fail to rectify situation.

KARACHI:

More than half of the households in Gulshan-e-Faisal, Clifton, have been without electricity for the past 40 hours.

“Life has become so miserable that it is beyond expression,” said a resident. “The climate is worse indoors than it is outside.”

The Massan area in Keamari and Shireen Jinnah Colony near Boat Basin have been without electricity for 17 and four days, respectively. Power outages in New Karachi and North Karachi have increased drastically as well, with regular load-shedding both during the day and in the middle of the night. Residents of the area are facing water shortages because they are unable to pump water. Shumaila, a resident of North Karachi, said that power outages in the middle of the night were “agonising” for her and her family. “Women and children suffer intensely as they cannot go out of their homes like the men,” she said. Other severely affected areas include Saeedabad, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Pak Colony, Landhi, Korangi, Malir City, Orangi Town and North Nazimabad. Residents in Clifton have complained of live electric wires snapping and lying on the streets. “A live wire is a threat to anyone’s life, but the company is not taking it seriously,” said a resident.

Power cuts force businesses into creative solutions

Khalid, a carpenter in the Golimar area, relies on electricity to run his power tools and make the goods that his customers have ordered. However, with prolonged power cuts, he is left with little choice but to use that time in other activities. “I usually work late into the night these days,” said Khalid. “When there is no electricity, I use the extra time to interact with my clients and market my products.” Khalid admits to using the extra time that power cuts afford him to go meet prospective clients and share a range of possible designs with them. This has helped him expand his clientele.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2011.