World War I lives on in Karachi
DAMN YOU K.E.S.C and DHA
8am in the morning, you wake up to the fan swaying as if some unseen goddess is blowing at it, it shivers just a little, to explain that there is SOME electron activity in its wires.
On calling the K.E.S.C to explain that there is little or no voltage in our home, we find the phone incessantly busy. On calling the big boss who sits on the second floor at the KESC complaint center just behind Badar Commercial area, near 26th St. DHA Phase 5, we do get through. We explain the problem and he promises swift action. We apologize that we called him but do explain that it’s because we cannot get through to his subordinates downstairs as they have more important business to conduct, on the phone.
In any case the electricity in my home goes off and this is a good sign. This means soon the voltage will be restored to our humble abode.
That said in just an hour or so its time for the daily “load shedding” so there goes the power again.
When we receive power again, it’s for a couple of short hours.
It’s now 4:30pm in the afternoon and the power goes off again.
Thinking it’s just another case of load shedding we take it in stride. I leave the house to run some errands on the return find that there is still no power.
Running an errand in DHA Karachi, these days means one will have to walk through aging green slime/sludge to get to any establishment. When you try and avoid that you are sprayed with water splashing off the tarmac as trucks and cars whiz on by.
Clearly after such a time when you return home, you need a shower.
When you get home there is no water or the pump will not work, so there is no water to shower with. (Note no electricity can have devastating effects on home life).
Obviously I have to vent somewhere, I have to fight with my sibling at home only to give this monster brewing inside me somewhere to breathe.
It’s now 10pm. There is still no power in my house. Apparently it’s just the one phase that has gone missing so we are low on the KESC priority list. It is just that that is the one phase that runs my entire apartment / house, because KESC has not deemed it worth their while until now to share our house load on to two separate phases. This has to be explained each time we complain.
I cannot take this anymore so I leave my house, with the intention of showing them my state and perhaps they will take pity on me and send the repair truck. Of course I had (due to no power taking precedence) forgotten that my street is the re incarnation of the great green swamp, thanks to DHA leaving our streets to the mercy of overflowing gutters and generally not accounting for us needing drainage to begin with.
In any case, simply holding your breath can get you in and out of the house and also if you must you can contort your body so as to enter the car from the one side of the car that does not dip into the ugly, sickening, green slime. In any case I drive up towards the KESC complaint office, near Badar Commercial area (of course nearly being run over as people DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT RED MEANS STOP AND GREEN MEANS GO)…. Anyway I digress, as I am about to take my turn I see the street leading to KESC is no more. Some powers that be have decided that turning Kh-e-Badban into a real life representation of the trenches from World War I will win over some strange favor. There is a full fledged 4 feet wide trench n the middle of the street, cutting across the entire street. Water from the streets is now being pumped into this newly formed trench. This water will not drain, it will not evaporate, so why not leave it there in a trench in the middle of the street. WHAT DOES THIS ACHIEVE? The Street is unusable now. The KESC is not approachable. Was this the plan? Needless to say I could not complain to KESC and I returned home, fuming only to find my release here….
“Please post this one more time,one more time”
-Department of Redundancy Department
lord have mercy . one has to wonder about the mental health of the person who gave authorship to such a writing talent like you .
go easy on the coke sweetheart.
DV
Once More! Once More! Once More!
Like flogging a dead horse.
posted it thrice :P .. this should go into the record books of KMB..
better get a phase changer installed by an electrician .. one phase goes down.. switch over to another one..
Hey DV, good to see you again. Ever watch Robot Chicken? Makes me think of you and Obi.
And no, I did not read this post – looked too long and boring.
Have a great weekend.
lol Emotions are running high in the author’s mind.
Lord have mercy on KESC lol
firstly, like everyone above, i was clearly ticked off by seeing this post THREE times!!! what the HELL is wrong with you? have you never been outside DHA? you think you’re the only one facing all these issues that you’re ranting about like a lunatic about each and every thing that you had to face in a day?
you should check out the recent newspapers with pictures of various impoverished areas of the city with chest-deep water levels, where people can’t even live inside their houses! yes, CHEST-DEEP… not just a foot deep.
those people should be the first one to get all the attention, and not you. you can stay inside your walled bungalow if you want, but where do the others go?
on another note, yes, i do agree that all that has been happening in the city is bad, and should not have happened. i’m referring to all areas of the city where stagnant water has accumulated enough to make the lives of inhabitants of that vicinity sick to the core. proper planning should have been there. it is good that the current govt team is doing a good job to make a positive change to the city’s landscape. but let’s hope its for the long-term, and not just till this year end…
Typical KMB style to welcome newbies :D
Saba, trust me that almost everyone of us have realized that whatever you wrote was 100% true as we can *feel* your pain after doing hatrick in your debut post. :-)
Three’s the magic number! :P
Thanks to KESC….Karachi has become a hell hole
But Karachi is not the only city. Several cities across UK were affected recently by rain (not flood) and i do remember posting the picture on KMB.
There should be an orientation session of new authors
Lady you think you went through the worst??? think again..
Think about all the people in lyari, or perhaps those in the Kachi aabadis… count your blessings..
you still got a roof
New new authors .. :-)
Welcome to Metroblogging World!
Why dont you people comes to Islamabad – there are rarely any light switch offs here ;-)
This DT letter explains why the writer’s whining is pointless.
Global power crisis
“Sir: The other day, Liaqat Ali Jatoi, federal minister for water and power, admitted to the failure of the adopted power policies in front of the entire National Assembly. But it might comfort Mr Jatoi to know that power crisis seems to be a global phenomenon these days.
“Currently, Bangladesh is facing a severe power crisis because of a deficit of 1,500-2,200 megawatts. Power shortage in India in the coming month of September is estimated to rise from 25% to 35%, whereas load-shedding in the UP, Kerala and Bihar provinces exceeds twelve-hour durations in a day. Sri Lanka is no exception either; power demand there has recently surpassed available supply. Rural power consumers in these countries hardly get a few hours of electricity, just like in Pakistan at present. Though restricted to a few cities at present, Turkey also fears regular blackouts in some of its major areas.
“Furthermore, there has been no capital investment in the power sector in Zambia for the last fifteen years. Ghana and Uganda are in the same boat, the latter at present facing a crippling power deficit. Ditto for Tanzania and Nigeria. This year, Syria has had a summer of power failures and shortages, with blackouts in Damascus lasting five hours. Egypt has withdrawn large subsidies on electric supply, raising prices by sixty percent, a move that could trigger a serious power crisis. In June this year, Hungary also had a shortfall of 600 MW and the Europe’s latest power crisis is in Scotland.
“While it is not a cause for celebration, Pakistan’s power shortages must be considered in a global perspective. As demand rises worldwide and our resources struggle to keep up with increasing demand, countries across the world are struggling to manage the same problem.
HUSSAIN SIDDIQUI
Islamabad
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20078\26\story_26-8-2007_pg3_7
@JAYJAY
If you take out power sector reports as early as 1998, you would see that it was predicted that there would be an energy crisis in Pakistan in 2007. The question is, what did the rulers of this country do in those 8-9 years to cope with this predicted increase in demand. Answer: Zilch.
India is becoming an economic superpower. Our view of ourselves has become so low that now we are comparing ourselves with the likes of Ghana, Tanzania, and not to mention Uganda. We are supposed to be the new asian tigers. Now we are comparing ourselves to the backward counries of Africa.
Great Job of giving us a global perspective.
@ “Afor[pine]Apple”: It’s a good idea but we cant really stand Mushi :P …
Welcome to KMB .. :)
Yeah, why don’t you people go to Isloo where they aren’t any power breakdowns except when armed forces cutoff power of whole sectors :)
“Our view of ourselves has become so low that now we are comparing ourselves with the likes of Ghana, Tanzania, and not to mention Uganda.”
WTF?
Since when and which idiot thought Pakistan was superior to any African people!
such a list of pathetic posts……
come on give the new author a chance.
by the way if you poeople go through the articles postd in the last 6 months, 805 were trash. this one is at least addressing a problem faced by a human being.!
try to be a little tolerant!
don’t spew your frustrations on others.
if you do not like a post. just skip it!
“by the way if you poeople go through the articles posted in the last 6 months, 80% were trash. this one is at least addressing a problem faced by a human being.!”