Generalized demonstrations broke out in several districts of Karachi on Tuesday evening while the residents, angry with prolonged electricity failures, went down to the streets and blocked the major roads, triggering serious interruptions of traffic.
Residents of Liaquatabad and Azizabad organized demonstrations after one hour power cuts in the middle of booming temperatures, Express News reported.
The demonstrators burned tires and shouted slogans against K-Electric and the government, demanding an immediate restoration of power.
In Teen Hatti near Liaquatabad, demonstrators blocked roads leading to Jehangir Road and Ayesha Manzil, causing Gridlock from Shahrah-E-Pakistan to Guru Mandir. Long lines of vehicles were seen blocked while the shuttles faced major delays.
“We have not had power for 19 hours. In this heat, without water either, we had no choice but to protest,” a resident told local media.
The demonstrators said that children and the elderly suffered due to the lack of electricity, and that their repeated complaints in K-Electric have remained unanswered.
A declaration from K-Electric said that the failure was caused by a fault in an underground cable in the Liaquatabad C-1 region. The technical teams worked to repair the problem and the power would be restored as soon as the fault was corrected, he added.
The company apologized for the drawbacks and urged public cooperation.
The demonstration in Teen Hatti was finally canceled around 2:30 am after the power supply was partially restored. The police reopened the blocked roads and restored traffic.
A distinct demonstration also took place in the region of Hussainabad Food Street in Azizabad, where residents blocked the road by burning tires, complaining of serious water shortages due to pressure drop.
The demonstrators said that the loss of charges had reached 2 to 6 p.m. in certain regions, and despite this, the electricity bills remained high. They also said that the power failure had led to a water crisis. “The current government has completely changed the state of the city,” said a demonstrator.
“Each street of Liaquatabad has overflowing sewer pipes, the roads have been collapsed for years, street vendors have taken up each road and allocates, the gas comes only a few hours and only works with pressure pumps and electricity disappears for 2 p.m.
“There is no more governance in this country,” said a demonstrator. “This city, which supports the whole of Pakistan, is treated inhuman. If the authorities do not note and do not reset these political artists, Karachi – which is already on the edge – will be destroyed. ”
Azeezabad’s station’s house officer (SHO) signed up with the demonstrators as part of a negotiated approach and assured them that he would speak with the authorities to ensure that power has been restored soon.
Following this insurance, the demonstrators ended their demonstration and the road was reopened to traffic.
