Without water, gas and power, Eid turns into nightmare in Pakistan's Karachi

Millions of residents in Karachi faced severe disruptions during Eid-ul-Adha as widespread water shortages, gas outages and power cuts left families struggling to cook, bathe and preserve food amid intense heat, according to Dawn.The breakdown of essential municipal services triggered protests in several parts of Pakistan's financial hub, with residents blocking roads and venting anger at utility providers over prolonged outages during one of the country's most important religious festivals.The worst disruptions were reported in gas and electricity supplies, with residents accusing utility companies of failing to provide promised services despite official assurances of uninterrupted supply throughout the three-day festival.Muhammad Asif, a resident of Federal B Area, said gas pressure was too low to perform basic cooking tasks. North Karachi resident Farida Begum said she had to borrow a gas cylinder from her sister to prepare food for her children."What kind of Eid is this?" she wondered.Residents in Saddar and nearby areas reported similar difficulties."I had to take meat to a restaurant to get it cooked for my family, and they charged a hefty amount," one resident remarked.Defending its performance, a spokesperson for the Sui Southern Gas Company said uninterrupted gas supply had been maintained during Eid and claimed the utility received "no complaints" of suspension from any part of the city. The company, however, acknowledged low pressure in areas where gas suction devices were widely used.Water shortages compounded the crisis. Although the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation said routine supply had been restored before Eid, residents across several neighbourhoods reported receiving little or no water."We haven't seen a drop in the past three days," said Saima Bibi, a resident of Landhi."We bought a tanker at PKR 8,000 just for Eid," she added.A resident from Saudabad said her children had been unable to bathe since Chand Raat."We celebrate Eid to share happiness. This year, we only shared suffering. This is Karachiites' Eid," she dejectedly said.Similar complaints emerged from Malir, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Liaquatabad and old city areas, where families struggled to secure water for daily use."We had qurbani meat lying in buckets for hours, but no water to wash it," said a resident of New Karachi.Power outages added to residents' difficulties despite K-Electric's assertion that "no unannounced loadshedding was carried out in any part of the city"."Power kept playing hide and seek on the first day of Eid, on top of the scheduled outages," said Imran Khokhar, a resident of Hijrat Colony.A resident from Lyari said electricity was available for only six to eight hours during the day, resulting in meat spoilage and difficult living conditions."Fans were dead. We sat sweating. That was our Eid," he stated.As public frustration mounted, officials confirmed that residents in several areas staged demonstrations and blocked major roads to protest the prolonged utility outages during the Eid holidays.