At least 1,000 people have died of heat wave in Karachi and elsewhere in Sindh as the country has been in grip of sizzling summer for the last many days. Moreover, load shedding due to shortage of electricity continued to add insult to injury. People are protesting against non-supply of electricity across the country and the government ministers are trying to pacify the popular sentiments. Hundreds of people have been admitted to hospitals due to dehydration as temperature rose to 45 degrees Celsius in Karachi the previous weekend. Earlier, at least 2000 people were killed in neighbouring India which suffered one of the deadliest heat waves in its history. According to hospital sources, hundreds of people are still being treated of heat stroke in Karachi alone and hundreds of others were received dead in the hospitals. The electricity shortage has crippled the water supply system, hampering the pumping of millions of gallons of water to consumers in Karachi, a city of 20 million people.
At a time when the United States and western countries are worried about global warming and its impact on human beings, Pakistan, the sixth largest country in the world, has successfully maintained its aloofness from ‘travesties’ of academic discussions. Some political leaders in the country, who are allegedly on the payroll of their Indian masters, are responsible for shortage of electricity as they are not allowing the government to construct Kalabagh Dam. If Kalabagh Dam is constructed, most of the woes of the country will end as it will meet the requirements of the country to some extent. However, such politicians are on the forefront in criticizing the government for shortage of electricity, but never soft their stance on the construction of the dam. The government, on its part, is making tall claims of ending electricity shortage as soon as possible but practically things are going from bad to worse. Thousands of industrial units have been closed down and hundreds of thousands of people are rendered jobless. If we as human beings cannot fight against natural forces, at least we should have to avoid man made problems.
Karachi is suffering from chronic problem of electricity shortage and no electricity means no water and no industry. The government has to call an all parties conference, including so-called nationalists to discuss the issue of Kalabagh Dam. Enough is enough. There is a need to scrutinize the accounts of the parties opposing the construction of Kalabagh Dam. Truth must come to the notice of the people.