Yes, its ugly. And painful. But the reality is that PPP is going to be all over Karachi and there is little you could do to stop it.

The noisy smelly and accident-inviting PPP – private polluting power -seems ready to become a permanent part of the Karachi life. Given the volume of the current power crisis (credits abro @ flickr) and the way the crisis is being handled for commercial gains by everyone – from banks to leasing companies to small shops, we are all set to walk in Karachi that resonate with the noise of small generators and where even the tranquility of the morning is trashed by the engine noises.

Most of the motorbike repair shops in the city have found a great business in terms of maintaining and fixing these small generators that typically cost Rs 5,000 a piece due to the similarity of size and form of the generator engines and the engines of the motorbikes they are experts in.

Most main roads and signals are sporting fresh cloth banners and wall-chalking stating availability of small PPP generators across the city. Importers and casual investors have booked large orders of these machines hoping for good sales and profits. Even institutional players, like leasing companies, are not staying behind in reaping some possible windfall sales and associated profits.