Rain brings relief, power failures cause misery

LAHORE : Saturday's rains have made weather pleasant after prolonged heatwave but it also adds misery to Lahorites, thanks to feeble power distribution system of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco).

Scores of feeders knocked down by rains in first few minutes of shower. There were no gusty winds or thunderstorm. It looks like electricity distribution system can breakdown anytime even without a reason, said Muhammad Ali, a dejected consumer living along Canal Road who was bearing the brunt of prolonged power cut since evening.

Lesco customer service was blank about repair work following Saturday's rain. There was no official update about restoration of power to different areas.

Owing to power suspension to large area in the city, people face immense problems in pitch darkness.

Successive power failures have made life hell as power utility staff failed to pay heed to suffering if consumers. The most affected areas include, Iqbal Town, Harbanspura, Gulberg, Tajbag, Bhatti, Faisal Town, Johar Town, to name a few.

Especially, successive power failures have made life a hell as power utility staff fails to pay heed to sufferings of residents of Sant Nagar.

They faced lengthy power outages from 5 to 6 hours twice this week, amid hot and humid weather due to alleged inefficiency of Bhatti Gate Lesco staff.

On June 27, residents of Sant Nagar, especially those on Dev Smaj Road, experienced a power cut for over seven hours when a tree fell on the main electricity wires near Aiwan-e-Adl.

Despite locals promptly reported the issue to the Lesco Bhatti Gate, it took seven hours to restore power.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sant Nagar is situated right behind the Punjab Civil Secretariat, home to the provincial bureaucracy. Similarly, June 29 was a nightmare for the locals as they were once again without power for several hours.

The local Lesco staff didn't answer calls or inform residents about the cause of the prolonged power outage.

When contacted, Rai Masood Kharal, a spokesman of Lesco did not offer any comment on Saturday about what he called 'speedy repair work done by power utility for restoration of power to different areas'.

The muted response from Lesco management and staff added salt to miserable condition of masses as they felt alienated in the absence of prolonged power failures.