Half of the city plunged into darkness at exact 8:30pm on Thursday when the announcement at PTV about the address of President Pervez Musharraf to the nation was over and the Qari sahib had begun recitation from the Holy Quran.
As long as the President spoke, the power breakdown continued. There was no response to desperate phone calls made to the KESC by people for restoration of power supply. Those people who had left all their days' work to watch the President speaking to them had no option other than to curse the KESC. They faced only darkness, while the President threw light on national and international issues.
The President was making promises and assuring his audience that there would be enough power production when his three-pronged power plan has been completed - but there was no power at that moment.
All previous instructions to the KESC given by the President and Sindh Governor to avoid unannounced load shedding and save the people from unnecessary hardships have fallen on deaf ears. Seemingly, the utility remains reluctant to listen to any sensible suggestion.
The load shedding not only deprived the people from watching the President on TV screens but also disturbed water supply, brought uneasiness to patients on life support devices in hospitals, and at home, and inconvenience to students who daily devote a few hours to their studies at fixed times.
However, people in energy production business say that unless the line losses are reduced and 'kunda' - even legalised kundas - are removed there would be no relief to those power consumers who honestly pay their bills and suffer nerve-rattling load shedding. They pay for their power consumption, for the inefficiency and corruption of power producers and distributors and line losses and for the kunda users. Police offices, government schools and places of worships are the other places where electricity theft goes unabated.
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