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Mass madness breaks out in the suffocating blackness

By Fareed Farooqui

KARACHI: Vicious rioting broke out Wednesday evening in several parts of Karachi and continued into the night in protest against long spells of power outages. Bank branches and fast food franchise outlets bore the brunt of the public’s anger and Shahra-e-Faisal’s traffic also suffered.

Residents of the affected areas came out on to the streets and burnt tires and other materials. In some areas, the protesters broke traffic lights and damaged fast food restaurants by pelting them with stones. The police resorted to shelling and aerial firing to disperse the crowds.

The KESC operations director, Adnan Bashir, claimed that DHA staff had damaged the Main Korangi Cable while digging near the Defence police station, due to which power supply was cut off to Akhter Colony, Manzoor Colony, Kashmir Colony and other areas. Bashir said that the KESC staff was working to repair the damage and the electricity would be restored within eight to ten hours.

In Liaquatabad, the electricity was cut off since the afternoon, due to which, after sunset, residents came out on to the Shahrah-e-Pakistan and blocked the road. The riots spread from Teen Hatti to Dakkhana Chowk, from Dakkhana Chowk to Sindhi Hotel and from Ghareebabad to Liaquatabad no. 4, due to which these routes were blocked.

Riots also took place in various areas of Lyari Town including Aath Chowk and Shah Baig Lane. Protesters besieged a KESC complaint centre near Aath Chowk, and tried to set it on fire, but the police reached there on time.

The enraged residents of Qayoomabad and Mehmoodabad came out on to Main Korangi Road and blocked the road by burning tires and pelting stones. The protesters also broke down traffic lights at the Qayoomabad Chowrangi, pelted stones at the shops on the road and tried to set some shops on fire. The police reached the spot and resorted to aerial firing to save the shops from being burnt.

Near Aisha Bawany School on Shahrah-e-Faisal, the protesters blocked the road and pelted banks and shops with stones, but the police was able to take control of the situation within an hour and a half.

Traffic flows were suspended for several hours due to riots on Main Korangi Road and Shahrahe-e-Faisal, and was restored late at night. Protesters also rioted in the SITE area, Metroville, Shershah Chowrangi, Gulbahar, Patel Para, Lasbella Chowk, and Old Golimar.

KESC asked to avoid load shedding between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.: The members of a committee comprising MNAs and MPAs of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have asked KESC to refrain from load shedding between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m, PPI reported Wednesday.

In a meeting with the KESC’s director operations, the members of the committee asked KESC to avoid load shedding during these peak hours as power outages render traffic signals useless. The delegation, which was led by Sindh Minister for Environment and Alternate Energy Dr Saghir

Ahmed, asked KESC to find a way to end load shedding permanently.

Meanwhile, KESC officials informed the delegation about the various reasons leading to load shedding such as WAPDA’s inability to provide the stipulated electricity supply. The officials further regretted the one-hour load shedding carried out on Wednesday and blamed it on WAPDA by claiming that it had provided only 600MW of electricity as compared to the stipulated 700MW. In response, the delegation appealed to President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan and Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, and asked them to ensure that WAPDA provides the promised supply of electricity.

Meanwhile, KESC officials also mentioned that two feeders would become operational from Saturday in Liaquatabad, thus resulting in a more consistent power supply to the area.

Later, the delegation met with Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan at Governor House and informed him about the hardships being faced by the common person. Members of the delegation asked the governor to incorporate a plan that provides additional quantity of gas to the KESC for its power generation. In response, Khan directed the delegation to include such suggestions in the short-term plans and the long-term plans aimed at improving the power supply situation.

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