Load-shedding
is good
After living through
two blissful years without any load-shedding, some people in Karachi were
recently subjected to three days of almost no electricity. Now that things have
returned to normal, I wonder if it’s such a good thing to have 24-hour
uninterrupted power supply. While I do not for a moment suggest that our
industries should be subjected to heavy load-shedding, the power companies
should occasionally switch off electricity at least for residential areas. I
want my children and grandchildren to be prepared for the time when electricity
will be so expensive that they will be forced to use it sparingly.
They have never gone
through what I experienced in the 1950s, and again in the past decade – power
breakdowns lasting 12 hours at a stretch, when even fans were a luxury. And, of
course, there is the added benefit of a reduced electricity bill owing to load-shedding.
Yes, by all means, let’s live a couple of hours every day without electricity:
it will strengthen both body and soul, like fasting does.
Shakir Lakhani
Karachi
Printed in The News, Thursday, May 30, 2013
Post a Comment