SUKKUR, May 2: Almost entire Sukkur city remained without electricity for seven hours on Friday after development of a major fault in the City Grid Station.

The power outage sparked violent protests by the people in different areas of the city.

Due to a fault in the cable of one of main transformers of the grid station, power supply was suspended for hours to many localities, including Gharibabad, Miani Road, Bunder Road, Military Road, Shahi Bazaar and Queen’s Road.

As a result, residents of Ayoob Gate, King’s Hill Colony, Race Course Road, Gharibabad and other areas, including women and children, took out a protest rally while shouting slogans against Hesco and the taluka municipal administration.

The protesters gathered at Ayoob Gate and Mohammadi Chowk, burnt tyres and blocked roads for hours. They also hurled stones on vehicles due to which traffic between Sukkur and Rohri was suspended.

The protesters told newsmen that there was no electricity in their area since six in the morning due to which the people had to face water shortage also. They were not able to offer Juma Prayers as there was no water in the mosques, they added.

The protesters alleged that the Hesco officials were deliberately resorting to hours-long loadshedding to cover line losses caused by power theft with the connivance of the officials.

In the meantime, MNA Noman Islam Shaikh rushed to the scene and negotiated with the protesters. He assured them of early restoration of power and water supply after which the protest was ended.

The Sukkur division of the Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company is imposing 10-12 hours long unannounced loadshedding on the city these days.

Hesco has been carrying out load-shedding for a month on one pretext or another. Contrary to the assurances by the high-ups that its duration will be minimised, its period and frequency is increasing by the day.

Hesco has once again started load-shedding during midnight, which on the one hand give people sleepless night while on the other hand it has added theft and street crimes.

Irked by hours-long load-shedding, residents of different localities of the city have been holding demonstrations and sit-ins against Hesco but it seems the officers concerned have turned a deaf ear to people’s hue and cry.

The power when it comes in between long periods of load-shedding is not smooth. It either fluctuates or is too low, causing precious electrical appliances to develop malfunctioning. Hesco is reluctant to announce the schedule of load-shedding even after many requests by the traders’ community and common consumers.

The consumers, especially traders, demanded that the federal minister for water and power, chairman of Wapda, managing director of Pakistan Electric Power Company, chief executive officer of Hesco and other high-ups should take notice of the highhandedness of Hesco Sukkur and rid people of the double curse of load-shedding and low voltage.

Cellphones of Manager Operation Circle Hesco Sukkur Mazharuddin Ujjan and Deputy Manager Operation Division Hesco Sukkur Ashfaque Ahmed Bhatti were found switched-off when this scribe tried to make contact with them for comments.