While the Punjab government has issued a new schedule for timings in public and private schools across the province, the ongoing load-shedding still seems to be undeterred in affecting the students and study routine in schools.
The above picture is of a school in the city of Kamalia – a small city situated on the bank of river Ravi – where the temperature in summers often rises to 45° C, bringing normal life to halt and disorder. Like other parts of the country, power outages in Kamalia have increased dramatically.
Students in this school were forced to take off their shirts due to the frequent power outages in the hot weather.
Teachers and school administrations have expressed their concerns regarding the amount of time being wasted due to load-shedding and extreme heat that makes it impossible to create an atmosphere of learning in the schools and hold examinations with appropriate arrangements.
With the advent of the summer season, the electricity shortfall has once again soared to a staggering 6000 Mega Watt in the country consequently leading to extended load-shedding making it worse for heat-stricken masses.
While many cities face load-shedding of 6 to 10 hours, Kamalia – a small town – sees 10-12 hours of load-shedding.
In 2012, outraged civilians attacked the house of Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) MNA Riaz Fatiana in Kamalia. Two people were killed as a result of retaliatory firing by guards present at Fatiana’s house. The protest was in reaction to the power crisis in the city.
With increasing energy crisis and frequent power outages, there are no assurances from the government if the severity of crisis will be lessened, rather the normalcy, both in urban and rural areas, remain an unachievable task for now.
