Karachi's power vacuum.

Karachi -- is in the grip of a power crisis, and the utility has become a luxury. Surely owing to mismanagement, pilferage and an odd distribution system, electricity supply in the country's biggest metropolitan has become an enigma. This is toiling not only the civic peace and comfort hours of the citizens, but also businesses. Prolonged and unannounced interruption in power supply as well as voltage fluctuation issues are rife, and Tuesday (June 28) will long be remembered as a day of outrage as more than half of the city was devoid of electricity for more than 14 hours. This simply hints at the crisis of governance and the nuisance of ad hocism that has subjugated the once 'city of lights' into a marginalised dark hole.

Tuesday's protest must have sent the right signals to the authorities in slumber. Especially the K-Electric management that lives in a paranoid world of its own, and is oblivious to the pain that Karachiites have been experiencing for decades. Notwithstanding the power shortfall, which has reportedly risen to around 500MW due to inclement hot weather, it is the infrastructure and production that is questionable, and needs a thorough scrutiny. This disorder, coupled with a soaring tariff, is testing the patience...