Power Minister Khurram Dastgir announced that people will face power outages on Eid ul Adha. This is a major blow for the nation as Eid ul Adha is a time for celebrations and joy, however, it seems the day will be spent bearing the sweltering heat.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Khurram Dastgir that those areas where people don’t pay their electricity bills, — be it in rural or urban areas — will face “power outages”. On the other hand, he said that areas that pay their electricity bills on time will get “major” relief.
Typically, governments would provide relief to the public on Eid. However, as Pakistan faces one of the worst energy crises, people will have to witness power outage on Eid.
There will be load shedding on Eid too, Energy Minister Khurram Dastgir announced
Government's high decision in the wider interest of the poor No one will be able to keep meat in his house now: Geo News
— hina Mallick (@MallickHina) July 3, 2022
Read more: Has the curse of load shedding returned?
The electricity crisis in Pakistan has worsened as the power shortfall reached 7,000 megawatts (MW) last week. The country is facing unannounced load shedding of 10-15 hours a day. Some of the urban centers and rural areas are experiencing load shedding of 12 to 14 hours, despite them paying their utility bills.
Plight of the public
The load shedding has increased the miseries of the public which is facing difficulties to perform daily chores. Businesses are facing economic losses as they remain shut down due to the frequent load shedding.
Unannounced power outages in cities and villages have troubled tailors, who say there are only a few days left in Eid and it is not possible to prepare orders. Tailors say inflation has dampened market sentiment while rising oil prices have made it difficult to run generators.
Read more: Major hike in electricity tariff approved for Karachiites
Meanwhile, power load shedding stirred protests in different cities, including Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and others. The prolonged power load shedding in Karachi has started creating a law and order situation as citizens irked with unannounced power cuts came out on the streets and staged protests in different areas of the metropolis.