Protest against power outage causes traffic jams in Karachi – Pakistan

KARACHI: Thousands of commuters and motorists are stuck in multiple traffic jams on several major arterial roads after residents of Punjab Colony and Gizri took to the streets and blocked both tracks of the main road towards Boat Basin and Sunset Boulevard in protest against the ongoing power outage in their area.

According to traffic police officers, traffic flow was disrupted on several roads including Mai Kolachi road towards Boat Basin, Abdullah Haroon main road between Do Talwar and Teen Talwar, Lilly Bridge, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman road towards Gizri, Akhtar Colony road towards Korangi, Khayaban-i-Ittehad and other adjoining areas.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that residents blocked the main road near Punjab Colony on Tuesday morning.

He said that they had engaged the protesters with talks and also invited representatives of the KE to find a solution to the problem. The talks were successful and the protesters left both tracks of the road.

He said the police took no action because the protesters did not use force.

Another officer, South SSP Sajid Amir Sadozai, told Dawn that the road was blocked for several hours on Tuesday morning.

He added that the same residents also blocked the road near the Gizri tunnel towards Sunset Boulevard two or three times on Monday evening and that the police convinced them to leave the road.

On Monday evening, residents reported similar protests on Mauripur Road and the main roundabout of Shaheen Complex.

Meanwhile, a KE spokesperson said in a statement that the “kunda mafia” is resisting the “aggressive anti-theft measures” across the city. They have blocked roads and disrupted traffic in the city to maintain their illegal connections instead of paying their outstanding debts.

It said: “Recent incidents in Gizri, Punjab Colony and nearby areas are aimed at undermining K-Electric’s efforts to dismantle illegal connections of loadshedding-free feeders. During one such targeted operation in Punjab Colony, KE teams faced violent retaliation from armed assailants who attempted to stop the removal of kunda and held the personnel at gunpoint,” it added.

“The same defaulting customers organised protests in Gizri and Punjab Colony to forcibly restore power supply, which is against KE’s efforts to provide fair supply,” the statement said.

In the past 24 hours, similar protests have been reported in areas adjacent to Railway Colony, where amounts owed on defaults exceed Rs 150 million.

Defaulters in Baldia Town, who owe over Rs 180 million in debt, also blocked Mauripur Road, hampering traffic flow.

Published in Dawn, September 11, 2024