POWER outages not just greatly irked people in the sizzling heat but also added to miseries of already suffering patients, as dozens of operations were cancelled at various hospitals across the provincial metropolis on Friday.

Around 75 operations had to be postponed only at Jinnah Hospital due to excessive power cuts which also created troubles for patients admitted to different wards of various public sector hospitals along with their attendants.

It was learnt that many hospitals, including Ganga Ram Hospital, Services Hospital and Mayo Hospital, had to postpone dozens of operations scheduled for Friday in the wake of power crisis which had gone worse for the last couple of days with electricity supply remaining suspended for more than three consecutive hours at a stretch.

Meanwhile, an unpleasant situation surfaced at Jinnah Hospital when janitorial employees of a company of the hospital strongly protested against the non-payment of salaries of the last six months by the hospital administration. They also allegedly set on fire the office of the janitorial service as a strong resentment over the issue. The News could not reach Jinnah Hospital/Allama Iqbal Medical College (AIMC) Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram despite repeated attempts on his cell phone. It is pertinent to mention here that despite the tall claims of Punjab government, water supply also remained affected during the excessive power cuts in various parts of the provincial metropolis. People faced immense problem in performing Jumma prayer owing to scarcity of water especially in Sant Nagar, Krishan Nagar and other adjoining areas near the office of the Commissioner Lahore.