Demos across city as power outages disrupt people’s lives

With the mercury consecutively touching almost 40 degrees Celsius in Karachi since the past few days, the city’s residents found themselves in added misery as over 12-hours long unannounced power outages continued unabated. Among areas most affected in the port city were Baldia Town, Lyari, Aurangzeb Town, Korangi, Landhi, Surjani Town, PIB Colony, Malir and Shah Faisal Colony. Unconvinced by KE’s reasons, disgruntled citizens staged demonstrations in various areas against hours long load shedding and water shortage. Residents staged a sit-in near GhareebabadChowrangi, blocked the road and chanted slogans against KE and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB). They accused the companies of deliberately suspending power supply to rile up citizens and use it as an excuse to get further fuel concessions from the government. Demanding an end to unannounced load shedding, they lamented that those in power did not realise their predicament. “They drink mineral water and have generators at home. How can they realiseKE and KWSB have made our lives miserable?” stated a protester. Meanwhile, residents of Gulshan-e-Zahoor and Abyssinia Lines held a demonstration outside KE’s office on Sharea Faisal and even attempted to break into the office. The irked protesters warned of carrying out a sit-in at SharaeQuaideen and blocking the thoroughfare if KE officials did not address their grievances. They later followed up with their claim and staged a sit-in, barricading the road as queues of vehicles crammed it. The people complained that they were having to put up with unannounced load shedding of up to 16 hours, that too at odd hours. They further claimed that patients who were suffering from Covid-19 and were in home isolation have been further troubled by this. Lamenting the situation, the protesters questioned how they were supposed to follow the government’s orders to stay home while KE was forcing them to step out, putting them at the risk of contracting the virus. The police tried to convince the protesters to disperse, but they remained adamant that they would only do so if KE officials negotiated with them and fulfilled their demands.