GAS CRISIS: Key industries like textiles and cement in Hub rely on steady gas supply, and the current shortages have led to factory closures, job losses as well as financial uncertainty for countless workers. This situation highlights a larger energy crisis in Balochistan, a region which supplies natural gas to the rest of Pakistan. The effects of this shortage are deeply felt in everyday life. The absence of heating during winter months can be dangerous for the vulnerable members of the community. Immediate action is needed, including improving gas infrastructure, increasing gas allocations for Balochistan, for the city of Hub, and ensuring fair distribution across sectors.

Marwand Raza
Hub

TECHNICAL ISSUES: Recently, a delegation of the residents of Block-12, Federal B Area had a meeting with a senior official of K-Electric (KE) to discuss the issue of severe loadshedding in the area. Instead of trying to find ways to resolve the issue, the KE official kept trying to entangle the delegation into technical issues in order to justify the prolonged and consistent loadshedding. A vast majority of the residents pay their bills regularly. Despite being titled as ‘star’ consumers by the KE, they are treated like defaulters. The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) should interfere to resolve the issue of loadshedding on a priority basis.

Hasan Afzaal
Karachi

RESIDENTIAL VS INDUSTRIAL: Industrial areas are generally kept away from residential areas for a variety of reasons. However, in Hub which is the main industrial city of Balochistan, a large number of factories and industrial concerns are located close to the residential areas. Some of them even share boundaries with houses. These factories release carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals, increasing the risk of diseases in the general population. The authorities must take immediate action to address this growing and serious health as well as environmental concern.

Uzair
Hub

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024