The working of provincial government offices got badly affected when unannounced prolonged spell of loadshedding hit the Sindh Secretariat on Wednesday. The government employees were seen chatting over cup of tea, while visitors who came to meet with concerned government authorities for getting their problems resolved were returning without being heard.
Some departments in the secretariat switched on their generators to run the business, but after a passage of six hours, the generators stopped functioning due to lack of fuel. As the generators stopped, a complete darkness prevailed in the government offices, making things murkier. The situation got worsened when the generator of Tughlaq House, a building in the Secretariat premises, developed a fault due to which power supply to Sindh Home Department, Youth Affairs and Sports Department, Planning and Development Department, Food Department and Education and Literacy Department was suspended and could not be restored till 3pm.
Due to six-hour long power outages, visitors could not use lifts and faced great hardships in reaching the ministry of education, information, women development, food and agriculture and culture and tourism.
"I arrived at my office at 10am but there was no electricity in the department, said a Section Officer (SO) at provincial home department, adding that after two hours, the generator was switched on for power supply but after a few moments it developed a fault and stopped functioning." He said that loadshedding at government offices has become a routine and the working of some departments including home department getting badly affected. "We could not complete our work in designated time period due to which many visitors returned to their homes without response," he said.
He said that the power situation in the Sindh Secretariat always gets worsened in summer due to which paper work could not be done in designated time. "The concerned authorities should take remedial measures and install high-powered generators," he said. "I arrived from Thatta on Tuesday night for getting my posting issue resolved but the process could not move forward due to non-availability of electricity," said a teacher after visiting education and literacy department. He said that the provincial government should take note of the situation and provide relief to affected people.