Sunday, May 28, 2017

KARACHI: The financial capital of the country endured a massive electricity breakdown before dawn on Sunday, irking millions of the residents who would be observing their first fast during Ramadan.

The debacle occurred at around 3 in the morning and lasted for hours; water was also scarce due to the breakdown. The hot day had more than 70 per cent atmospheric humidity.

The predawn ordeal began when a major transmission line between the city and the national grid tripped and engulfed more than half of the city in darkness.

Besides Karachi, other districts of the Sindh province, were also affected by the electricity outage.

A large number of the faithful Muslims ate Sehri in the dark.

The people critising the private sector K Electric firm said it had promised an uninterrupted power supply to the city at least during Sehar and Iftar times, but had failed to keep its vow on the first day of Ramadan.

The chief minister of the province convened a meeting with K Electric’s management to ensure the company makes a foolproof plan to keep its service delivery smooth.

The water pumping facilities of the Karachi water utility also came to a grinding halt after the power breakdown and a large part of the city could not get the water supply.

The main water-boosting facilities at Pipri, North East Karachi and the Hub remained suspended for many hours.

A K Eletric spokesperson said the restoration of electricity work had already begun and the situation would be normalised as Karachi would start receiving the electricity from the National Transmission and Distribution system through its 500 kV transmission line.

In a message to its clients, the management expressed regret about the inconvenience caused by the electricity failure.

Besides Karachi, 13 cities and towns including Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Jamshoro in the Sindh province also were the affected by the crisis.

By Mohammad Ashraf Correspondent

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