Karachi: After protests over power cuts worsened the security situation in the city, the privatised power utility of Karachi has assured the Sindh government that the situation would improve in the next 24 hours.
The assurance to this effect was given by top officials of the Karachi Electric (K-Electric) as they were summoned by Sindh Energy Minister, Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh, to his office to seek explanation for the persisting power crisis in the city.
The K-Electric’s delegation was led by its Chief Executive Officer Moonis Abdullah Alvi. The meeting was also attended by the public representatives belonging to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party.
The meeting was held a day after Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, said the worsened situation of power supply had caused law and order problems in the city.
The CM said the power consumers in the city had run out of patience as they had been left with no choice but to take to the streets against hours-long power cuts amid peak summer.
He asked the provincial Energy Minister to immediately contact the management of K-Electric to take corrective measures on an emergency basis as the law and order situation deteriorated.
While interacting with the K-Electric’s senior officials, the Energy Minister said the power utility should immediately improve its working as it was of utmost importance to provide due relief to the masses.
Sheikh said that he asked the K-Electric to do power load-shedding in the city on a uniform basis so that residents of all the areas in Karachi ‘equally suffer’ the power crisis.
Sindh Labour Minister, Saeed Ghani, who also took part in the meeting, said that it had become very difficult for the people to stay indoors in summer due to the absence of both electricity and tap water.
The PPP’s lawmakers emphasised that the electricity consumers in the city had to endure load-shedding lasting up to 18 hours a day as this situation should come to an end without further delay.
The meeting decided to form a cell at the Sindh Energy Department to ensure water supply to areas where residents don’t get potable water due to the hours-long power-cut.
