Protest against load shedding on Karachi's Mauripur Road ends

The demonstrations against K-Electric (KE) for carrying out unannounced and prolonged power load shedding ended on Tuesday evening after Karachi police assured protesters that their grievances would be addressed.

At least one woman died in protests against load-shedding in Karachi. The cause of death of the woman, identified as Meeran Bibi, remains unclear.

Earlier on Tuesday, the police baton-charged the crowd, conducted aerial firing, and even resorted to shelling in an attempt to disperse the protesters.

The protest against load-shedding also caused severe traffic jams across the city with the roads leading to the country's biggest port having choked as well. Hundreds of heavy long vehicles were seen piled up as major arteries in the area remained blocked.

Several areas in Karachi have recently been facing power outages, including Hijrat Colony, Sultanabad, Nazimabad, Gulistan-e-Johar, Burnes Road, Karsaz, Defence Housing Authority, Clifton, Baldia Town, Manghopir, Orangi Town, and Landhi.

The police also blocked the Lyari Expressway for traffic at Garden Interchange to Mauripur road, it was reported.

Karachiites hold protests against loadshedding

Earlier, electricity consumers of Hijrat Colony and Sultanabad blocked PIDC bridge and MT Khan Road to protest against the prolonged load-shedding.

The protesters raised slogans against the government and K-Electric, demanding restoration of their power supply.

Moreover, a large number of Lines Areas residents also came out on main Shara-e-Faisal and blocked the key road near Gora Qabristan.

Pakistan is facing a daunting power crisis due to which the government has resorted to load-shedding all over the country. The country is facing up to 10 hours of load-shedding in urban and rural areas, driven in part by peak temperature-driven demand.

Presently, the generation in the country is about 20,000 MW against a demand of 28,000 MW of which 25,000 MW is regular demand in the country. This excludes K-Electric, which is also getting up to 1,100 MW from the national grid, while over 3,000 MW is based on high-loss feeders.