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Thursday March 28, 2024

Intense heat, outages claim nine lives in Punjab

People protest against govt over loadshedding

By our correspondents
July 05, 2015
LAHORE: Nine persons lost their lives and dozens of others fell unconscious due to intense heat, humidity and unscheduled loadshedding in different districts of Punjab including Lahore on Saturday.
The families of victims and locals protested against the Punjab government over loadshedding.
In Lahore, a 52-year-old man, a resident of Karnal Pura, Wahdat Colony, fell unconscious due to the harsh weather while working in the Shafiqabad area. He was rushed to hospital where he died.
In Sahiwal, the heatwave killed three persons. The victims were identified as Rabia of Shadman, Rukhsana of Chak Aurangabad, Ramzan of Chak 99/9. They were taken to hospitals, but could not survive.
Six fasting persons fell unconscious in Sahiwal due to dehydration. They were given medical treatment and were stated to be out of danger.
In Sheikhupura, the condition of one Shahbaz, a son of Maulana Mansha, became critical due to humidity. He was rushed to hospital where he died.
Six persons were shifted to different hospitals in a state of unconsciousness. However, they recovered after receiving medical treatment.
In Depalpur, two persons died and several others fell unconscious. In Arifwala, two persons died and dozens of others fell unconscious. The deceased were identified as Nawab Din, 55, and Noor Bibi, 65.
Lahorites protested against the unscheduled loadshedding. The duration of loadshedding in cities reached 9 hours and in villages 14 hours.
People also highlighted their woes on social media including Facebook and Twitter and criticised the government for focusing only on Metro buses instead of providing basic facilities including power, clean water and health facilities to them.
Constant tripping and overloading caused losses to home appliances. People alleged that Lesco and other power companies were not responding to the emergencies especially when transformers break down.
The duration of power suspension due to transformer fault reaches even eight hours at a stretch.
People also faced severe problems during Sehar and Iftar due to loadshedding. They demanded immediate relief and better management of loadshedding instead of making tall claims.