KARACHI: Over a thousand industrial units spreading from West Wharf to Gharo in Thatta District came to a grinding halt a 11 o’clock last night [Sept 21] due to shut down of the 137-MW KANUPP Plant and the closure of the 65-MW Korangi Power Station generator since Friday [Sept 20]. A KESC spokesman said that at 11 last night only 155 MW of energy was being made available to Greater Karachi as against the normal demand and consumption of 340 MW — a shortfall of 185MW. In spite of the big cut in power supply, the KESC has taken steps to ensure uninterrupted supply to domestic and commercial consumers as well as the “essential services” like KPT, Railways, Shipyard, Dockyard, Fisheries, Hospitals and Defence Services.

[Meanwhile, as reported by news agencies from Tegucigalpa, Honduras,] some 8,000 people are feared dead and tens of thousands are estimated to be missing following hurricane Fifi’s rampage through Honduras, a member of the National Emergency Committee said here today [Sept 21]. Captain Carlos Fortin, an Army officer helping to direct relief operations, said the figure was an estimate based on fragmentary reports still coming in from the flooded countryside and could well go higher.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024