Unscheduled and prolonged power outages in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad overshadowed the disqualification of Yousaf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister by the Supreme Court. Residents of the twin cities were complaining that they were spending sleepless nights due to three- to four-hour-long power outages in sizzling heat.
For load shedding stricken people, the disqualification of Gilani has no importance. Problems caused by power outages, including shortage of water, were more real and pressing for them, according to a survey conducted by Business Recorder on Wednesday. It was observed that people in various public places and large markets were discussing the issue of power cuts.
Anecdotal evidence further showed that the if the authorities failed to resolve issues such as power outages and price hikes speedily, the public will take to the streets and hold demonstrations in front of the Parliament House. Raja Tanveer 45, a resident of Sector I-9, sitting outside his house because there was no electricity for two hours, said: "The disqualification of the Prime Minister or any other minister is of no importance to the common man. It will not solve our problems."
Imran, a resident of Sadiqabad in Rawalpindi, criticised top government functionaries for not evolving an effective strategy to tackle the situation. "Our policy-makers are unable to realise the problems of the common man. They are sitting in air-conditioned rooms," he said. Asim, a shopkeeper at the Aabpara Market, said that the business community was facing huge financial losses because of continuous power outages but the authorities concerned were not interested in resolving the energy crisis.
Comments
Comments are closed.