First winter rain in Karachi irks citizens due to power cuts

Karachi received winter’s first rain on Monday under the influence of a westerly system which on the one hand turned the weather pleasant but on the other hand brought misery for the city with prolonged power cuts in many areas.

A person also allegedly died due to electrocution during the rain. The K-Electric (KE), however, deniedthat the cause of death was electrocution.

“Under the influence of a westerly disturbance, different areas of Karachi received light to moderate showers which continued till evening. More light rain or drizzle is possible on Monday night but this system would be cleared by Tuesday noon,” Dr Sardar Sarfraz, Sinch chief meteorological officer, told The News on Monday.

During the rain that started early Monday morning, a 35-year-old man, Ghulam Hussain, was reportedly electrocuted near the Frere Market in the Saddar area. His body was later shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi for an autopsy. The power utility claimed that the person had died of natural causes instead of electrocution.

The winter’s first rain in Karachi also turned the weather cool and pleasant. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the maximum daytime temperature dropped to 19 degrees Celsius in the city for the first time since 2008 when 19.6 degrees Celsius was recorded as the highest temperature in the winter season.

Dr Sarfraz maintained that another westerly weather system would approach Pakistan in the next two weeks and it was expected that Karachi may receive more light to moderate rains in the first week of January. He, however, added that an accurate forecast in this regard would be issued later.

The Met Office data showed that the Pakistan Air Force Faisal Base had received the maximum rain till 8pm on Monday with 26 millimetres (mm) of rainfall, followed by 18mm at the Masroor Base, 17mm at the Met Complex on University Road, 17mm in the Old Airport area, 13mm at the Jinnah International Airport, 18mm in Nazimabad, 14mm in North Karachi, 15mm in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, 12.5mm in Orangi Town, 12mm in DHA, 11mm in Saadi Town, 12.4 in Surjani Town, 12mm in Keamari and 10.4mm at Jamia tur Rasheed.

Road situation

According to the Traffic Awareness and Social Media Unit of the Karachi traffic DIG, traffic movement remained slow on Jail Road, SITE, Gurumandir, Club Chowk, Tibet Centre, Tower, Uncle Saria Chowk, Hassan Square, FTC, Shaheen Complex, Korangi Bus Stop, Soldier Bazaar, Airport Road, Khajoor Chowk and Urdu University towards Nipa, adds our correspondent.

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Administrator Murtaza Wahab visited District East, South and Keamari to inspect the drainage of rainwater. He remarked that despite continuous rain for seven to eight hours, there was no standing water anywhere in the city. “In the past, rainwater remained stagnant after little rainfall," he added.

The administrator said that due to the excellent performance of the local bodies, drainage work at various places of the city was under way. The District Municipal Corporation South in a press statement said that drainage work was carried out at Saddar, Empress Market, MA Jinnah Road, II Chundrigar Road, Tower, Denso Hall, Boulton Market, Kharadar, Clifton and several areas of Lyari, including Lea Market.

Power cuts

Major areas of the city witnessed power breakdowns as soon as the rain started in the wee hours of Monday. After it began raining, feeders in multiple areas of the city tripped and power cuts were reported in Scheme 33, Orangi Town, Malir, North Karachi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Lyari, Korangi and other areas.

In areas such as Surjani Town, Federal B Area and Nazimabad, the power supply could not be restored till the filing of this story in the late evening. The KE in a statement on Twitter, said: "Restoration work is progressing swiftly in some parts of the city, and they will be restored shortly. KE's staff is on alert, and ready to fix any local fault."

The company also advised the people to maintain a safe distance from electricity infrastructure and ensure safety precautions while using electronic appliances. The power utility asked the people to approach its call centre 118 or SMS service 8119 in case of queries and complaints.

Later, the KE issued a statement, in which it claimed that it ensured sustained power supply to the city and its teams continued to remain vigilant and active throughout sporadic weather conditions to ensure the stability of its power supply network.

Areas with high incidence of theft and illegal connection usage were preemptively shut down temporarily in the interest of safety of the residents and power was swiftly restored after receiving clearance from the ground team, the KE maintained.

It added that the consumers were also kept informed about the power situation via broadcast of live updates on its social media platforms. During Monday’s spell, the maximum number of feeders switched off for safety reasons was 380 out of KE’s network of more than 1,900 feeders.