Residents of Lyari near the Mauripur road flocked to the streets on Tuesday to protest K-unannounced Electric’s and protracted power loadshedding and frequent breakdowns. The Karachi police deployed tear gas and baton charges against them.
Since last night, protesters have been blocking traffic on the road that connects the industrial zones of SITE and Karachi Port Trust (KPT) by burning tyres.
However, the protestors were baton-charged by the police at 11 a.m. today after they refused to leave the major road. On DawnNewsTV, footage showed police commandos firing tear gas at protesters who were yelling anti-utility management and supply restoration slogans.
After the police action, the people dispersed for a moment, but they soon resumed their protest, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asif Bughio. Since 4 p.m. yesterday, electricity has been out in a number of Lyari neighbourhoods, particularly the one next to Mauripur Road, he claimed.
The officer said to Dawn.com that hundreds of citizens stopped the road for hours as a result of a protracted power outage, adding that police attempted to engage with them but were pelted with stones.
In order to “cool down” the protesters and stop the situation from getting worse, Bughio said that they had been in touch with the KE management. He stated that talking it out was their first priority in trying to find a solution.
According to the traffic police spokesperson, the demonstration significantly increased traffic near the Jinnah Bridge and M.T. Khan Road.
Separately, reports of protests protesting water shortages came early Tuesday morning from various areas of the city. Residents of Liaquatabad’s Dak Khana, Shah Faisal Colony-2, and Kala Pul reportedly took to the streets, according to the traffic police.
A sizable group of Lines Areas residents gathered on Sharea Faisal in the early hours of today and blocked the important road close to Gora Qabristan.
They ascribed the 13-hour interruption in their supply to the KE. The demonstration blocked traffic on one track of the busy Sharea Faisal by yelling anti-utility management and supply restoration chants.
A previous report from Dawn claimed that residents were experiencing 12- to 14-hour power outages in sweltering heat, which had made their lives unpleasant.
Yesterday, inhabitants of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Surjani Town, New Karachi, Federal B. Area, F. C. Area, Burnes Road, Defence Housing Authority, Clifton, Baldia Town, Manghopir, Orangi Town, Landhi, Shah Faisal Colony, Model Colony, Shaheed-i-Millat Road, Khokhrapar, PECHS, Mehmoodabad, and Defence
Due to the lengthy loadshedding, students taking intermediate exams were forced to complete their tests in hot and muggy conditions. Additionally, they are unable to study for their examinations due to frequent periods of loadshedding during the day and at night.
