Powerless Karachi goes on suffering

Today, March 6, 2008 will be remembered by the residents of Karachi for a long time. At eight in the morning, power to the entire city was suspended because WAPDA discontinued electricity to KESC (it has not yet been restored). The reason given by WAPDA is that KESC has not yet paid to it Rupees thirty five billion which is due from it for past supplies. The first question that comes to mind is, why did WAPDA wait until the arrears shot up to thirty five billion? And secondly, didn’t those who control WAPDA know that shutting off power to the country’s largest metropolis would disrupt life for the fifteen to sixteen million people who live in Karachi? Don’t they know that the industries here have deadlines to meet and if they fail to export their goods on time, they can not only lose huge amounts of money but can also be blacklisted by importers? One would dearly like to know how these chaps who play with the fate of innocent people are appointed. Most probably they are related to powerful people in Islamabad. It’s time they were made to pay for their crimes. But we know from history that nothing is going to happen. On the contrary you can bet that they will be promoted to the next level with increased pay and perks.


Leave a Reply