As loadshedding riots continue, Zardari takes notice
Sources said that many power plants belonging to private companies have stopped working as PSO has failed to provide fuel to them.
Chairman National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) Ejaz Rafiq said that the power plants cannot produce electricity as they are not provided with the amount of fuel required.
The private power plants need 39,000 tonnes of oil to produce electricity however they are only provided with 8,000 tonnes.
Rafiq expressed hope that the president might be able to control the situation.
Protests
Large-scale protests against prolonged loadshedding gained momentum on Sunday, as scores of people took to streets in Chichawatni and destroyed public property.
The protesters attacked the house of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MNA Zahid Iqbal. They hurled stones at his house, smashing the window glasses, while attacking the out wall of his house with sticks.
Protests were taken ahead to Saddar and City police stations, where the protesters destroyed the jail, letting the prisoners break free.
Enraged protestors also staged demonstrations in different parts of Punjab, including Lahore, Gujranwala and Faisalabad.
Power outages, as long as 20 hours, were recorded in Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
Protestors staged demonstrations on Samundari Road, Novelty Bridge, Mandi Quarter, Korian Wala and Roshan Wala bypass. Tyres were burnt in the protests, while Samundari Road was completely blocked. Police launched a baton-charge to disperse the mob.
The residents of Lahore also staged protests in different areas against the power crisis. Women and children, armed with sticks, took out a protest in the Iqbal Town.
While in other city areas, protestors burnt tyres and chanted slogans against the federal government. Some even disrupted traffic flow.
COMMENTS (59)
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@Mujtaba Bhatti: You are talking of ages ago. Sir you info is a bit outdated. Much bigger plants have also come up in Morocco too and Algeria as well. India is putting up one 5,000 MW plant in Gujrath another near Hyderabad and one is proposed near our border in Rajastan. These plants each cost $475 mil. but are available free to reduce the carbon footprint on the planet. If Pakistan wants to tap these resources it can. These things may surprise you but it is happening. If we put our heads in sand does not mean the storm is not blowing.
@abubakker: Money is never the problem but the vision and will to do is. These are all mature technologies and available.
Please keep voting PPP into power and there shall be no power left in the country !!!
Let's start with the basics. Bring back Pakistan's Daylight Saving Time. This will increase the amount of light in the evening by one hour, so that sunset is after 8pm. This may seem like a pointless exercise, but consider the amount of energy saved by residential and commercial lighting being turned on an hour later than at the moment. Whilst the government continues to be useless, let's start doing the little things that will add up to make a big difference. Think lateral, and we might get somewhere if we as a people start working together to bring about change.
wow, i'm relieved by your notice !
No Electricity. No Water. No Gas. No jobs. No law-and-order.
Definitely, democracy is the biggest revenge..
Wah Pakistan Wah….
yey! finally some protests, it is because of these people we manage to get few extra hours of electricity ...otherwise Our government would not give us anything ....its the government that has done no planning and is not doing anything even to date to resolve the widening gap ....there are ways cheap electricity can be imported...but they are busy enjoying themselves to take serious actions for the resolution
@nikarish: Already TN is in power crisis....Its 2 hrs power cut in cities and even upto 6 hrs in villagers...First let us feed our country before giving to others..
Chennai is the automobile hub of India..We cannot drive away investors by not providing power...Also,everyone knows how hot can TN get during summer....
@Adeel Ahmed: Don't cry for Punjab & we in KPK & Hazara also suffering from 20 hours Loadshedding . . . Since Great General Zia ul Haq, who invented Loadshedding in this Country, nobody took serious notice for the production of electricity....???
and do what?
No load shedding in karachi, evn thou 58% of the consumers don't pay the bill. In punjab even 93% recovery and the highest tax payer, Deprived of any electricity at all.
@Syed Burhan: At thsi time, solar energy is actually quite expensive. How did you get data that says that solar energy is cheaper than hydroelectric electricity?
How many times the notice is to be taken?
In other news, I've taken notice on the corruption of the current government.
@nikarish These demonstrations are due to the fact that vast majority of Pakistanis are used to using electricity unlike 40% of Indian population and they are upset when this happens. So, may be India should help 40% of its population first.
India can help pakis.
@Burhan: Solar power plant of 5,000 MW... ahem.. please check your facts first.... chk the info below before you start talking abt solar power plant of such magnitude.
The 354 MW SEGS CSP installation is the largest solar power plant in the world, located in the Mojave Desert of California. Other large CSP plants include the Solnova Solar Power Station (150 MW) and the Andasol solar power station (150 MW), both in Spain. The 214 MW Charanka Solar Park in India, is the world’s largest photovoltaic plant.
"Protests were taken ahead to Saddar and City police stations, where the protesters destroyed the jail, letting the prisoners break free." - ????
dont worry everyone, they've raised the per unit electricity rate again, so although we wont be getting any electricity, we'll still be getting the same if not a higher bill amount! @concerned citizen.. we've only had 4 and a half hours of electricity in main cantt today so ur lucky! @cautious... im paying all my utilities and taxes so stop generalizing!
@Ordinary Villager: My friend. PTI and PMLN have both conducted seminars on handling the energy issue. What needs to be understood is that even if PTI protests against load shedding, it is not going to solve the problem. PPP has ignored the issue for too long (just like Musharraf before them) to be able to contain the issue at this point. Even if Zardari takes notice, the best they will be able to do is to divert funds away from development budget to address short-term load shedding pains. What we need is a sober and very well thought out solution. Even if you choose to disagree with PTI on every front, if you look at their energy policy details (published in seminar), you will appreciate the planning and hard work that has gone into it.
@Salman: The reason for all the load shedding now is that the last dictator Musharraf did nothing in his 9 years of rule. Not did not charge a fair price to NATO for using the raods, he did nothing to improve the energy situation in Pakistan and now the illiterate public wants to fix all of the problems Musharraf created in a decade in just 4 years?
@LionOfPunjab: A lot of 'transmission loss' occurs in IK's own backyard i.e. FATA. And people still wonder why he doesnt take a stand on the loadshedding issue. He wouldnt dare spoil his vote ban. Maybe he knows Punjabis are gullible enough to vote for him anyway.
I live in a middle-class area of Karachi and we have loadshedding 3 hours a day (perfectly reasonable compared to rest of the country), areas that have the most 'kunda' connections have loadshedding for up to 12 hours a day and my relatives live in a not-posh middle-class area where there is no loadshedding at all because their area's electricity bill collection is over 80%.
Bottomline: pay your bills and taxes and there will be no loadshedding. Yes, most people can't afford it and it seems unlikely that our government will be able to bring down the sky-high inflation or introduce an alternative (e.g. solar energy for villages), but it's often the ones who want their AC's and TV's to run on kundas that make the most noise about loadshedding.
Why the president has to take notice? Is it not the job of PM and power minister? Is Dr Asim Hussain reporting to Zardari where as his boss is Mr. Gilani?
.....but Gellani has taken notice many times and sitting on a golden throne has ordered that load shedding be banished from the land.
@Syed Burhan: 1. where will the money come from to invest in these projects 2. who will give you LED technology.
I have written many times. You have to think out of the box for this. According to some calculation if only we moved to LEDs from present hazardous CFLs we will save 5,000 MW which was the earlier level of shortfall.
Now it has risen to 8,500 MW as per newer estimates here. Put up one Solar Plant (not the usual) and you can wipe out 5,000 MW. It will cost you 475 million dollars. (Bhasha dam may give you 4,500 MW after spending 8 billion dollars.
By these two steps you get 9,500 MW. We will be a 1,000 MW excess of our demand. Why don't we go for this solution. Will someone come and consult me please?
Punjab is facing this problem because of 18th amendment and that was passed with Nawaz's blessing; so this load shedding problem is thanks to Zardari and Nawaz Sharif
Another fraud like ROTI-KAPRA aur MAKAN. PPP Government has slept over this LOAD SHEDDING issue for over five years with all lies to console the people.
Dont worry folks. The PPP will solve ALL problems after winning the next elections. KEEP VOTING PPP! Hahahahha
When will the people take "final notice" and "disconnect' this gang from Pakistan???
take electricity from us we have it plenty
"Zardari takes notice " I,m confused did,t he took notice a month ago abt the same energy crisis and the month before that it,s like our government wants people to be antagonized .. It happen every month the energy crisis exacerbate and when the load shedding becomes Unbearable we take to the street and like every pakistani protest we not only disrupt the tarrfic but also brun everything to the ground ..And then zardari takes notice
Mr president, you are not running a den, it's a country. This crisis has not occurred overnight. Damn't we pay your ministers to stay abreast of the state of affairs of the country.
Its only in Pakistan..that Government Officials "take notice". What does "taking notice" mean ? At other times, they are "not taking notice" about what is happening ? They are paid salary by tax payers to "take notice" on a 24/7 basis. Surely they are not "part time President" and "part time Prime Minister" ?
Keeping recent traditions alive, I have three questions to whom it may concern:
Why has Punjab been singled out to bear the maximum brunt of load shedding? Having business operations all over Pakistan, I know for a fact that the federal capital and major cities in other provinces are not facing as many hours of load shedding as are Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot and other areas of Punjab. Even if we agree that there is a severe, unintended shortage of electricity, why can't there be a published load shedding schedule? Only under the most inept management and operations personnel would a power company torture its customers with unscheduled power outages spanning several hours in a single stretch. Why isn't there load shedding in Bahria Town (at least Bahria Town Islamabad).I'll post my fourth question soon.
Power shortage will be eliminated in 90 days, once PTI comes to power. Under the current PPP government the transmission lines are corrupt and can only pass 50% of electricity through it (rest is wasted due to corruption of transmission lines :)). Once PTI comes to power, it will rehabilitate (like the Lotas) all the transmission lines to conduct 100% of electricity without wasting a watt!!
@Get Real: Sir with due respect PTI is now a force in Punjab and they claim that they talk about the rights of the people here and now atleast if PTI can arrange save Judiciary protest then why not arrange a Protest against loadshedding???. The point is not that they are in the government or not but they are the Opposition and they must force the government with their protest to end the loadshedding rather than waiting for the next elections to come.
President Asif Ali Zardari took notice of prolonged load shedding in the country and summoned Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain.
This is not the first time that Zardari has taken notice of prolonged load shedding, he did that a couple of weeks back and reprimanded Naveed Qamer but what was the result??? ZILCH RELIEF!!! People were and are still bearing the brunt of inefficiency & incompetence of this Govt. and its crooked ministers!!!
Bhutto sahib Sr. once said something to the effect of there will not be a single poor person, I think the masses may have misunderstood, it probably means they will be annihilated. What better way to fulfill that dream? why is he taking notice now - doesn't he get regular updates as to what is happening under his divine rule and how is his riaya?
rawalpindi is facing severe load shedding. both my ups have stopped working i cant sleep at night anymore. all i do know is curse the govt.
Its quite sad to see people destroying properties of ordinary citizens who are an equal victim to the brilliant governance and sincere efforts of our beloved leaders. Its time for them to vent out the anger in the right direction or at the right people.
Zardari Takes takes the Notice of NOTES
How meaningless your headline has become: Zardari takes notice.
Why president has to interfere every time
Zardari takes notice AGAIN ! WOW...
You don't pay your taxes --- you don't pay your utility bills --- and you wonder why nothing seems to work.
How many times on how many issues he has taken NOTICE and nothing significant happened?
Why does he always take notice when people are up in arms! what a mindset and what leaders oh followers....
Not a good phenomenen, it must stop, otherwise soon we will see that no politician and his family and belongings would remain safe. If PPP members and suporters can be attacked then what is there to protect PTI and Nawaz and his brand of League. You can't live in a glass house and sling stones on others; if not for any other good reason, stop this for your own selfish reason of saving yourselves.
thank god there r protests! i hope they don't end now even if it's resolved, because this is what this stupid government keeps doing; when there are protests, they'll fix things for a week or two and when things settle down, it's all the same again! if they really wanted to resolve these problems, they can be resolved more quickly than they say! today there was a loadshedding of 6 hours straight in lahore! so god, PPP STEP DOWN ALREADY YOU INCOMPETENT LOSERS
Dont worry PTI is going to save the Judiciary very soon. As far as loadshedding is concerned it is not their problem.