The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday ordered the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) to immediately restore electricity supply, suspended since April 25, in some areas of Bin Qasim Town.
SHC division bench, comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Tasneem, heard the constitutional petition filed by Iqbal Kazmi against the KESC and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for suspending electricity in the Bin Qasim area.
The petitioner submitted that the residents of Jilani mohalla and Yousuf goth in the Cattle Colony have been deprived of electricity for past 96 consecutive days. He stated that a pole-mounted transformer (PMT) had caught fire on April 25 due to some technical fault; the power utility was informed of the incident and requested to restore electricity. The plaintiff stated that a written complaint was also filed after 24 hours, but the KESC failed to fix the problem.
Citing the chief operating officers of KESC and NEPRA as respondents, the petitioner pleaded that the respondents be directed to restore electricity in the affected areas and install a new PMT in the town.
Blaming the KESC for being responsible of creating a law and order situation, the court observed that citizens have been suffering due to the poor performance of the KESC. “If the current [KESC] management is unable to run the institution, it should let competent people run the utility’s affairs,” the bench added.
Expressing annoyance over the failure of the KESC management to redress complaints regarding restoration of electricity, the court issued directives to the KESC and NEPRA to ensure provision of electricity to the affected areas and immediately install another PMT in the town.
