Islamabad - Zero loadshedding of electricity was observed during the visit of Chinese president to Islamabad, enabling the residents to watch live coverage of the historical welcome and farewell Pakistan accorded to the visiting dignitary.
“Since Monday, we have been glued to television. I am overwhelmed, it is a great moment for the country, thanks IESCO for continuous power supply,” said Abbas Murtaza, a shopkeeper in Aabpara Market.
Many residents were excited about the new power projects China has promised to start to pull out the nation from darkness.
“Power shortage is the most crucial issue which has not only ruined the economy of the country but also the quality of life of a common citizen. Thanks to Chinese government for promising 8,000 megawatts electricity,” said Adnan Ahmed, an employee of ministry of finance. He hoped that all the projects would be completed in the coming five to ten years and the country would get rid of blackouts.
It was the hope of new investment in power sector that made the residents happy, despite facing inconvenience of roads closure due to VVIP movement. Many roads of the capital were closed during the visit of Chinese delegation for security reasons.
“Road closure is not a new thing for us but this time the reason is genuine. China is our friend who has always supported us and we don’t mind if all Islamabad is closed to provide security to distinguished guests,” said Rab Nawaz, a resident of G-6 area which was largely closed due to its closeness to Red Zone.
The officials of electric supply company said that zero load shedding was observed to facilitate the guests.
“Whenever power is shut off, there is a blackout for seconds until generators start working. We directed the IESCO to halt outages to facilitate the visitors as well as general public,” an official of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) said.
The IESCO spokesman said that ministry of water and power asked IESCO to ensure uninterrupted power supply and his company successfully implemented the orders. He said that load-shedding would restart as per schedule from Tuesday evening after the departure of the guests.
The load-shedding is being observed in the jurisdiction of IESCO from six to nine hours daily, whereas unannounced blackouts are routine in different parts of the capital. The officials term these blackouts technical fault; interestingly no technical fault was reported during Chinese president’s visit.