Prolonged power outages add misery to Karachiites

Karachiites kept suffering from prolonged power outages on Friday also as Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) has failed to rectify faulty units of its plants in Korangi and Bin Qasim towns.
The power supply was also affected after the transmission system of KESC was caught by faults linked to the Karachi Atomic Nuclear Power Plant (KANUP) on Wednesday night, which would take at least 72 hours to restore.
80 MW and 150 MW shortage of power was caused due to failure of two units at the Korangi Thermal Power Plant and one at the Bin Qasim Power plant respectively while 60 MW power shortage is due to KANUP, sources in KESC told Business Recorder.
In the wake of this gloomy situation the city was experiencing repeated fluctuations and 12 to 24 hours long power outages making the life of fasting Karachiites miserable.
While the enraged protesters with stones in their hands took to the streets in Malir, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Agra Taj and Lyari the others blocked the roads in respective areas set tyres ablaze. The sufferers were chanting slogans against KESC administration.
Technical faults have brought severe electricity shortage problems at the residential and commercial parts of the city besides affecting health and educational institutions.
The KESC administration failed to sort out these faults for ensuring smooth power supply to its consumers. Over dozens of feeders were tripped and cables damaged in different parts of the city, which cut off power to a large number of areas.
The city faced total power shortage of 250 MW on Friday, which is major reason of breakdowns in the city. Protests against power outages continued in different parts of the metropolis.
Residents of several areas of the city including Keamari, Agra Taj, Bhitai Colony, Hassan Square, Liaquatabad, North Karachi, Landhi, Korangi, Gulshan Iqbal, Sohrab Goth, Lyari, Nazimabad, Saddar, I I Chundrigar Road, North Karachi, Nagan Chowrangi, Nazimabad, FB Area etc also suffered 12 to 24 hours power breakdowns.
On the other hand patients in the main hospitals of the city also suffered while number of operations in civil hospital and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital were cancelled due to absence of electricity.
Similarly educational institutes in the city also affected by power crisis and students suffered the most. In Karachi University power breakdown was 4 hours long while in Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Islamia Science and Commerce College, Adamjee Science College, power remained at large for almost 6 hours.
It is worth mentioning that present power crisis is continued since last one month. According to sources internal differences between the KESC administration and Siemens is the major cause behind the current crisis.
On the economic front the prolonged power disruptions have caused losses worth billions of rupees to the business community of the city while inflicting damaging affects on the country's exports.