KARACHI: Protests broke out in several parts of the city after residents were left without electricity for more than 50 hours following the heavy rains of August 19.
People living in University Road, Tipu Sultan Road, Moinabad, Bustan Society, Amirabad, and nearby localities said power had gone out around 2:30 pm on Tuesday during the downpour and had not returned since, while water shortages added to their hardship.
Frustrated citizens staged demonstrations outside K-Electric offices, chanting slogans against the company for failing to respond to repeated complaints.
In Malir, protesters blocked the Mehran Depot route, disrupting the People’s Bus Service, while in Liaquat Market, road closures caused severe traffic jams across Model Colony, Jinnah Avenue, and surrounding areas.
The demonstrators warned that if electricity was not restored soon, protests would spread to other neighbourhoods.
Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon noted that rain-related disasters linked to climate change had claimed lives across the country since June, with 427 deaths in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 165 in Punjab, 40 in Sindh, 22 in Balochistan, 56 in Azad Kashmir, and eight in Islamabad. In Tharparkar, 198 mm of rainfall caused three deaths and the loss of 18 livestock.
Meanwhile, Sindh Minister for Energy and Planning & Development Syed Nasir Hussain Shah made an unannounced visit to K-Electric’s head office after mounting complaints over prolonged outages. He instructed the utility’s officials to take swift and practical steps to resolve the crisis.