Federal, provincial governments urged to bring an end to load-shedding

Owner of small scale businesses have sought the intervention of federal and provincial governments to direct K-Electric to immediately restore power to all the commercial and residential areas of the city as the load shedding would cause irreparable loss and many small businesses would be closed down. Many of the small businesses are without the means to install backup generators. They are forced to close while the electricity is off, a situation which cuts into already thin margins of profitability.
In some areas, small scale businesses have slowed down on production as they have to work only when there is electricity.
They claimed that persisting long hours of load shedding has paralyzed activities of small business in the city rendering them hand to mouth.
Small owners of business including Photostat, lathe machine, tailors, dry cleaners, photo studios, net cafes etc. have suffering huge losses due to prolong load shedding carried out by K-electric.
They said that the government has failed to safeguard the interest of the tiny, small scale businesses and medium industries that are in dire need of power for industrial operations.
They are already facing adversity due to ever increasing cost of living and increase in load shedding hours will further make worse their living condition.
Small businesses such as tailoring units and small-scale flour mills etc. that are dependent heavily on festival business are facing a severe crisis situation in view of the 8 to 10 hours of power cuts in the city on the pretext of technical fault.
Small businesses owner complained that power outages span surged to ten hours in different areas including safoora, Malir, Scheme No 33. Shah Faisal Colony, Gulistan-e-Jauhar and Gulshan-e-Iqbal etc.
During visit of different areas of the city the small businessmen said that the present government as well as the governments in past know only one thing and that is to increase power and gas tariffs, impose new taxes bow down before IMF and World Bank, make huge expenses on their own living and have no sympathy of general public.
It is alleged that K-electric deliberately switching off power units to conserve fuel. Power consumption has already dropped many times as residential and commercial use of air conditioners, fans etc. has been reduced owing fair weather.
It may be mentioned here that up to 8 to 10 hours of power outages are being observed in various parts of Karachi, causing many problems for citizens.