Karachi: No electricity, no water
Ironically, the KESC workers, on July 19, were matched by a different group of protestors: Citizens who have had enough of living without electricity. More sympathy needs to be extended to these protesters since they have had to bear the brunt of the workers’ strike. They, too, however, need to refrain from violence since that is unlikely to change the minds of the workers and will only plunge the city into further misery, which it did, because large chunks of it became mired in gridlock that same evening. The water shortage to some extent is linked closely with that of electricity and that means that the government needs to step in. A situation where a city the size of Karachi has a power company which in effect is saying that it is close to shutting down operations is clearly not in anyone’s interest, least of all of the people of Karachi. Workers who are being laid off cannot be allowed to cause inconvenience to the general public by their actions. The government should not tolerate the closure of roads or any damage to public or private property from such protesters.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
COMMENTS (7)
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What else you can expect from out ruling class. We are not humans living in Pakistan but just like a crowd of animals and barking dogs, who have no rights, no justice, no necessities, no respect, no foreign policy, no economy but only aid, and whenever any crises came on the country they all go out.
How can sacked 4500 KESC workers could "have decided that they will let residents suffer in darkness and heat" and how can you conclude that "their demands are 'unreasonable. Its a terrible editorial you have written. Typically because you know that its KESC management that has controls over electricty production and repairs, not the sacked 4500 workers. Dreadful.
18 hours power cut? Even Mogadishu in Somalia I hear gets 6 hours of power !!! Didnt' know things in Pakistan were this bad....
As muslims working in KESC ,How could muslims do this to other muslim brothers .Why go to mosque and pray when nothing is practised ? Muslims are the only religion in the world who stresses on brotherhood and will fight for palestine cause which is 1000 of miles away ..But still at the same city ,ready to make other muslims suffer !!
Don't worry, Karachiwallahs. Like Mumbaikars, you too are what our politicians like to call, 'a resilient bunch'. Don't you just love it? When all else has failed, our leaders resort to flattering us in the vain hope that we won't revolt against them. Guess what ... they are so right about that. We won't revolt and we will continue to swallow this mess. Now that is the famed desi / south-asian resilience for you. We have been through an independence struggle, a partition, a secession in the last 100 years. This is just the start. An appetizer of the resiliency. Makes your head spin. Doesn't it?
Karachi A city of dark or city of guns or city of robberies or city of innocent blood or may be city of crows.