Riots break out against power outages, failure

KARACHI - Riots broke out in different parts of the city on Wednesday over unabated electricity loadshedding, as tug-of-war between CBA union and administration of KESC has led the consumers of the utility to misery. According to details, the strike of Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) employees has badly affected the supply of electricity in the city. The KESC workers are not removing technical faults in time in different parts of the city. The loadshedding duration has reached to 8 to 12 hours in different parts of the city while 24 to 36 hours power failures have also been witnessed in different areas. The citizens are also deprived of water as Karachi Water and Sewerage Board claimed that pumping station were closed due to power failure. The areas including Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Tariq Road, Gulshan-e-Maimaar, Sohrab Goth, Surjani Town, New Karachi, Kornagi 3 and 5, Nazimbad No 7, and Malir are the worst hit areas and people there came to streets, burnt tyres and resorted to intense aerial firing causing an halt to all private and commercial activities in these respective areas. The President of the CBA union, Ikhlaq Ahmed while talking to The Nation said that workers were not involved in any such conspiracy. He said that workers of KESC were trying to save their jobs, adding, I dont know why KESC management not paying heed to worst loadshedding in different areas. Our employees first complete their duties and later join the protest in front of Karachi Press Club. He said that companys assets were in trillion of rupees, whereby it could be sold out in Rs 16 millions and twenties department are being tried to have been outsourced. He termed that it is corporate techniques to have the city paralysed, as the load shedding time is accumulating and industries are being shifted from Pakistan to other countries. However, according to KESC press release, the KESC employees could not attend to faults for the past three days since its various offices had been occupied by protesting workers and their aides. The release further said this certainly required the governments intervention and support of the law-enforcement agencies, adding that the government agencies should act fast and swift in order to help the utility resume its normal power supply functions and maintenance and repair work in the metropolis as soon as possible.