As the mercury shot up to 34 degrees Celsius with 66 per cent humidity on Monday, the city experienced more than eight hours of staggered load-shedding as the privatized Karachi Electricity Supply Company faced a shortfall of 500 megawatts in meeting the demand. The power outage was caused by problems faced by the utility's Bin Qasim plant's Unit 6, but the utility's management was not prepared to admit this.

The slow pace of work and change of government has put the fate of Rs225 million proposed Combined Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in the balance, exposing the eco-system of the area to further degradation at the hands of industrialists of the Hattar Industrial Estate (HIE), sources told Dawn here on Sunday. Since the Hattar-based industrial units were predominantly export-oriented ones, the non-compliance of national and international legislation regarding environmental requirements, it might expose the country to threat of non-tariff barriers under the WTO regime internationally.

Acute power and water crisis continued in Sukkur despite many protests of people as frequency and duration of loadshedding has increased making life more difficult for public. Power crisis which started three months ago has been translated into an acute water shortage in the city especially for thickly populated New Pind, Shah Khalid colony, Bihar colony, New Goth, Neem Ki Chari, Jillani road, Islam Ganj, Queens road, Ayub Gate, Takkar Muhalla areas. Residents of these areas fetch water from hand pumps in low lying areas.

Iranians on Saturday were told to cut their electricity consumption by 10 per cent or face daily power cuts because of a severe drought and low production by hydroelectric power plants. Residents of the capital Tehran could face up to four hours of blackouts each day, officials said according to media reports. "If consumers do not cut down consumption by 10 per cent, we will have blackouts until the end of the summer,' Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Ahmadian told Fars news agency.

The energy saving drive of the government found little favour with traders in the city on Monday, as markets remained open beyond the stipulated time on the first working day of the week. While people have been suffering degenerating power supply with prolonged and nightlong power outages since Sunday night the situation was not so encouraging amid blazing heat in 34 degrees Celsius with 72 per cent humidity. Various residential areas across the city were hit by prolonged and unannounced power outages of up to 10 hours from late Sunday night till Monday evening.

The energy conservation drive by the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) turned out to be a 'partial success' on its first day (Sunday), with 60 per cent markets across the province voluntarily closing by 9pm. Pepco officials called it an encouraging sign as all these markets pulled their shutters down on their own because neither the Labour Department nor the district administration was on duty on Sunday. (Except for Lahore and Rawalpindi, markets do open in Punjab on Sundays as they follow the Friday closure)

In view of the deteriorating water situation in the province, the Environment Protection Department (EPD) announced a scheme to monitor various types of surface water sources in Punjab including rivers, lakes, canals and wetlands here on Monday. The scheme will include a profiling of the water bodies, an estimation of various loads of pollution (organic and inorganic) being discharged in surface water bodies, a public information and awareness drive for the conservation of water and reduction of pollution, as well as greater collaboration between the various government bodies involved.

Pakistan, a signatory to seven international conventions on the environment, needs to urgently develop and implement a biodiversity action plan to conserve its depleting plant and animal species, many of which have already been wiped out.

Hesco's unannounced loadshedding is costing people living in various pockets of the city dearly because they are not only experiencing acute water shortage but paying exorbitant rates to private water tanker owners for getting supply of water. Almost all water reservoirs of Wasa have been hit by non-supply of electricity while on account of non-availability of required number of water tankers the Wasa is unable to reach any locality hit by water shortage.

The Punjab government will establish environment clubs at state-run schools in six districts. City district nazim Rana Zahid Touseef said this while speaking at a seminar organized by the Punjab Environment Protection Department (PEPD) here on Wednesday. The nazim said the district government was making every effort to control pollution. He said in the first place factories spreading environmental pollution were being shifted from residential areas. He said the environment clubs being set up in schools would create awareness among students about the environment pollution.