Power, gas loadshedding looms large across Pindi

ISlamabad : Amidst winter power, gas load shedding the increasing worries of Pindiites have an even darker lining. Households across the city are fast running out of gas and power. A massive loadshedding of the kind seen in some previous winter seasons is going to be repeated this winter when most of the city areas have been left without electricity and gas.

“The scarcity of gas has arisen at a time when the city residents are going to fight the quivering cold wave. Without gas home cooking has come to a halt leading to an increased dependence on the food bought from outside, which is adversely impacting the household budget,” says Adeem Raza, a resident of Asghar Mall.

“Massive power cuts in the winter season are astonishing when most electric appliances are not in much use.

This underlines the faulty policy of the concerned department. There seems to be no plan for dealing with the challenges it faces in overhauling the sector and its creaking infrastructure. As a result of the cut, our sufferings are multiplying,” says Ashiq Hussain, who lives in Satellite Town, Block ‘D’.

The areas worse hit with loadshedding include Tench Bhata, People’s Colony, Harley Street, Gulshan-e- Shafi Colony, Ghousia Chowk, Dhamial, Dhoke Syedan, Kamalabad, Lalazar, Mughalabad, and Westridge. Adiala Road, Al-Mumtaz Colony, Defence Road, Mubarak Lane, Sherzaman Colony, Dhoke Kalhoor, Ali Town, Dhama Syedan and New Lalazar, Rehmanabad, Dhoke Kashmirian, Dhoke Paracha, Muslim Town, Sadiqabad, Dhoke Kala Khan, Adiala, Chamanzar Colony, Dhoke Chirgaghdin, Arya Mohallah, Dhoke Juma, and Dhoke Farman Ali are in critical mode.

“Apart from loadshedding even on other days, it’s a routine that power and gas cuts hit large areas of the city which are always attributed to a technical glitch. It is generally stated the cuts were caused by a technical fault and the departments i.e. Iesco and SNGPL were forced to switch off power and gas to some areas of the city, including some business districts,” laments Adeel Haider, dwelling in Harley Street.

“The worst part of the whole loadshedding scenario is that it is unscheduled. Although there is no use of fans, room-coolers, and air-conditioners in winter the electricity bills are still inflated despite price reduction announcement by the government. As far as gas use is concerned, the use of heaters and geysers has not started yet, but the SNGPL is sending inflated bills. It’s just ironical,” says Sher Ali, a low-income private firm employee.

“Suspension of gas supply from dawn to dusk has badly affected the domestic consumers.

They began to face the problem from the second week of October, which has continued since then despite the closure of CNG stations all over Punjab,” says Arbaz Jafri from Kamalabad.