Pakistan: Residents face problems in Punjab due to power and gas outages

Islamabad, April 15 People have been facing problems as the power outages have increased up to eight hours in urban and 12-16 hours in rural areas in the service areas of Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) and other districts of Pakistan's Punjab province, local media reported on Wednesday.

The situation worsened from Monday evening after the power distribution in Lahore and cities and towns in other districts started observing unannounced or forced loadshedding on an hourly basis, resulting in people spending most of their time without electricity, the daily Dawn reported.

People in several parts of Punjab have been facing problems due to decreased time duration of gas provision in cooking hours and low gas pressure in tail-end areas.

Liaqat, a resident of Awan Town, revealed that his family could not sleep due to the worst-ever loadshedding that continued on an hourly basis and called Tuesday "a terrible day" as the power outage continued for hours from morning to evening.

Several divisions and districts of Punjab, including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Toba Tek Singh, Sahiwal, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Multan, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan, Muzaffargarh, and Dera Ghazi Khan, also witnessed power outages. The Lesco spokesperson said that there was an increase in complaints about loadshedding.

Meanwhile, several areas of Punjab, including Lahore, were facing gas loadshedding with decreased time during the cooking hours. The situation in the tail-end areas is even worse, as the people are experiencing extremely low pressure during cooking hours.

A resident of Gulberg said: "Previously, the gas was being provided for three to four hours each in morning, noon/afternoon and evening/night timing. But now, we are receiving gas for hardly two hours during cooking hours." He mentioned that his relatives living in other areas of Punjab are also facing low gas pressure or no gas during cooking hours due to the tail-end area situation.

Meanwhile, residents in Karachi have also been facing difficulties as the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has failed to ensure gas supply even during meal hours three times a day, Dawn reported.

The SSGC claimed that it was providing gas to households from 6 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. (local time) without any disruption. However, over the past two weeks, people of Karachi have complained about unannounced gas outages in their localities. The gas shortage has triggered widespread frustration among people in Karachi, with many households turning to roadside vendors, restaurants and LPG suppliers for alternative cooking options.

As people faced difficulties in finding alternatives, long queues formed at LPG stations and shops as the refilling took a long time. LPG was not available at many shops, further adding to people's difficulties.

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