Light Within: Load Shedding is the best revenge

Load Shedding is the best revenge
Saturday, 23 June 2012

Advent of unprecedented load shedding in Pakistan has changed the economics as well as social fabrics of our society. It has impacted everyone – business sector, industry, domestic users - in one way or the other.

Load shedding has crippled the economy already sluggish economy of the country. Businesses can produce and deliver and are losing their clients in international market. Huge population of unskilled workers (and also some skilled workers) has been rendered jobless and they have no options left to earn and feed their families and they are seen protesting everywhere in the length and breadth of the country. But this is not about how load shedding is impacting the economy. This is how it is affecting people in general.

Everyone seems to be at the edge, impatient and annoyed. I happened to visit a NADRA center and saw people waiting since morning. The center will close down every hour of load shedding and no work was done in the absence of light and computers shut down. I saw the misery of the people including old women, who were there to get their National ID Cards renewed (why should national ID card expire) in shabby and hot lounge, were fanning each other or their kids who were there to get Form B (Jaman Parchi).

Home is a place where everyone wants to come back after day’s work. Ask a person who is working in some rich organization where they have generators to keep the air conditioners working during hours of load shedding. They don’t look forward to going home where they don’t have ACs working during alternate hours. What is more, the load shedding has not reduced the amount of domestic electric cost; cost of electricity has increased and people no more care to switch off when the light is there. Also include the cost of electric appliances that people need to buy (inverters, UPS) and other that get damaged due to load shedding. You can’t even recharge your cell phones and laptops. You can’t even watch TV. Many complaint of throbbing headaches from lack of sleep.

I have noted people don’t want to call on their friends and relatives due to load shedding. “It looks so awkward. You simply can’t talk nice things sitting in someone’s home during load shedding,” says Nayyar Julian. “Load Shedding is the best revenge,” he adds.

Labels: Load Shedding