Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday has directed to register the case against K-Electric over deaths in Karachi due to electrocution during Monsoon rain spell. According to details, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed has also ordered to put name of K-Electric Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Monis Alvi on Exit Control List (ECL) and conduct audit of the company.
Put Entire K-Electric Administration into ECL: CJP https://t.co/ZmMbF67sUf
— ACE News (@ACENewsPK) August 11, 2020
While expressing anger over prolonged electricity outages in the metropolis, the top judge reprimanded the concerned authorities and remarked that people are severely suffering from this issue.
K-Electric counsel responded and told that reason behind load shedding is power theft. The CJP further asked why no action has been taken yet against the culprits to stop power theft.
Read More: Those responsible for electrocution deaths in Karachi be booked, put on ECL: CJP
During the previous hearing, the CJP remarked that eight to ten people are dying due to electrocution daily but the National Electric Power Regulator Authority (Nepra) isn’t doing anything. He said those responsible for electrocution incidents should be booked and their names put on the Exit Control List (ECL).
#CJP said Mayor #Karachi Waseem Akhtar should "go" so the city can "be rid of him".
“Kids are drowning, Even my car’s tyre went in a gutter,” CJP #JusticeGulzarAhmed told officials present in the court. He reminded Govt lawyer that it was his city as well. https://t.co/ZIB5xfkOAP— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) August 10, 2020
Notably, on July 29, the Nepra had taken “serious notice” of electrocution deaths in Karachi during recent rains in the city and invited citizens to report such incidents to the regulatory body.
In a statement, a spokesperson of NEPRA said that in order to ascertain the real causes behind these incidents and to fix responsibility the regulatory body has created a dedicated email address to receive evidence from the general public and affected families
Army is cleaning Karachi?
The Pakistan Army teams have also kicked off the cleanliness campaign in Karachi to assist the civil administration in removing dirt and garbage from the city’s major storm-drains.
The army-run Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) personnel initiated cleaning operation at Gujjar Nullah in Nazimabad with over 50 dumpers, cranes and other machinery to remove the garbage, which had choked the flow of water in the drain during recent monsoon rainfall and submerged adjacent area.
As electrocution deaths in Karachi are increasing, Sindh Rangers personnel have also been deployed at the site of the drain clearance work which is led by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The garbage from the sewerage drain being immediately transferred to the landfill site. The drain clearance work has also been started at ‘Cafe Piyala’, an area in the Federal B Area of the metropolis with heavy machinery and other equipment.
Read More: Karachi becomes battle field: CJP extends eviction deadline
After the 18th amendment, argue analyst, it was made sure that the provinces took charge of the local issues and address them accordingly. However, the Sindh government has apparently failed to devise any mechanism to deal with the crisis it faces every year during the monsoon season in Pakistan. Apart from rains, the garbage in the country’s largest city has always been a big challenge. But it remained largely unaddressed. The federal government is not doing what the Sindh government should have done long ago, argue political analysts.