Broken promises: Load-shedding continues unabated during Sehri

HYDERABAD:

The federal government’s announcement of ending load-shedding during Sehri and Iftar times seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, with the electricity supply suspended in many areas during Sehri hours on the first day of Ramazan.

According to a source, the power remained suspended from around 90 of the 412 feeders controlled by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), which is responsible for supplying electricity to 14 districts in Sindh. Hesco spokesperson Sadiq Kubar, however, denied this, without elaborating on how many feeders were shut during Sehri. Meanwhile, Tando Allahyar Action Committee, a group claiming to represent traders and residents of the area, announced a shutter-down strike against the outages on Saturday.

In Hyderabad, protests erupted in several areas, with violent demonstrators attacking a Hesco office in Shaheed Umaid Ali subdivision and burning the records. The residents of Mirpurkhas, Badin, Dadu, Jamshoro and other districts also complained of prolonged outages, ranging from 6 to 15 hours. Hesco has assured residents of uninterrupted power supply during Sehri as well as from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2015.