Keti Bunder’s hope for power flickers out

Deprived of electricity, residents have been compelled to switch to solar energy for bare necessities

KARACHI:

Once a thriving and flourishing port near Karachi and a rich municipality, Keti Bunder now finds itself plunged into darkness.

According to local activist Shakeel Memon, the port has been deprived of electricity for the past three years due to the non-payment of bills.

“They [the power utility] sent us excessive bills and people here were unable to pay the charges,” he explained, lamenting that they continued to receive bills despite the area being deprived of the facility for years.

As a consequence, Siddique Maheri, a resident of the area, finally decided to sell all his electric appliances, including fans and washing machines, last Sunday.

“There is no electricity here and so these appliances are useless to me now,” he said. “I am saying goodbye to electricity.”

Maheri’s sentiments resonate with many others. With a population of 5,000, not a single household in Keti Bunder has a fridge any longer, and, according to Shakeel, 99 per cent of the residents have sold their electronic equipment.

Instead, deprived of electricity for so long, the residents have turned to solar panels to get through the sweltering summers, using them to meet the bare minimum need of running fans and light bulbs.

Solar power, however, requires special fans and bulbs, leaving their old ones redundant, and offers them little relief as electricity suspension continues to add to their quandary, coupled with the impacts of natural disasters and man-made interventions.

Of ‘development and destruction’

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum chief Muhammad Ali Shah attributes the suspension of electricity supply to Keti Bunder to the construction of dams and canals.

“Keti Bunder’s people are paying the price of dam construction,” he remarked, adding that such development had led to the devastation of Sindh’s coastal communities. “Their fisheries, livestock and agricultural [lands] have been ruined and now they are even deprived of electricity. Keti Bunder needs development, not destruction.”

Terming it a “violation of human rights,” Shah added, “These people have the first right to use the river’s water but unfortunately, they don’t even have access to potable water.”

Seeking lost glory

The tragedy, however, does not end in Keti Bunder. The shadows of darkness spread to nearby villages including Haki Moosa Jat, Haji Abu Jat, Baboo Jat and Siddique Rohojo, among others.

This was not always the case.

Once a famous port city and thriving trading centre, famous for its fish and rice, Keti Bunder even gave funds to Karachi. But things went south, leaving it lagging in development.

In fact, it only received electricity in 1996, during the tenure of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Abdul Rasheed Memon, an elderly resident, told The Express Tribune.

She had also pledged to install power generation plants near the port so that Keti Bunder’s people would have access to another source of income and promised to revive the port, work for its prosperity and bring back its lost glory, he related.

Unfortunately, the promises, like the city’s glory have faded into the sands of time. As Shah put it, “Keti Bunder is a ruined city now.”

Promises, promises

When contacted, Senator Sassui Palejo assured that she would highlight Keti Bunder’s problems at the relevant forums and try for the restoration of electricity supply.

Admitting that several areas in the region faced similar problems, and that “tail-enders were the ones who usually suffered [the most],” she still maintained that most development schemes, including those pertaining to electricity and schools, were initiated in the city during the Pakistan People’s Party’s tenure.

But such assurances by authorities fail to move Shakeel.

“There is no resistance now despite people not even having access to potable water. The rulers only visit us when they need votes,” he said with a sad smile. “We don’t think the government needs this city any longer or is willing to restore its past glory. Almost half the electricity infrastructure has been damaged and no one believes the city will ever see light again.”

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2020.