Half of Karachi plunges into darkness

KARACHI: Soon after Iftar on Tuesday when the residents of Karachi were preparing for Taraweeh prayers, almost half of the metropolis plunged into darkness.

K-Electric spokesperson Usama Qureshi told The Express Tribune that extra high tension lines of 500KV of national grid station had tripped near Dadu and Jamshoro due to which the Bin Qasim power plant’s station number one and two shut down.

“Karachi is facing a shortfall of around 700 megawatts,” he said and assured that technical teams were working on repairing the fault.

The areas affected included FB Area, North Nazimabad, North Karachi, Buffer Zone, Baldia Town, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Johar, Korangi, Landhi, Defence, Qayyumabad, Lines Area, Malir, Akhtar Colony, Old City Area, PECHS, Saddar, Site and Tariq Road.

The few areas of the port city where the power supply wasn’t affected experienced low voltage.

Meanwhile, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) spokesperson Nazir Mateen told The Express Tribune that due to power outage the supply of water from Dhabeji and Pipri pumping stations had been suspended.

“The supply of water to the entire city has been stopped,” he said and expressed apprehensions the power shortage could create immense water scarcity in the metropolis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2015.