Khurram dubs Cyclone Biparjoy as national disaster

By Syed Wahaj Ahmed

HYDERABAD: While describing Cyclone Biparjoy as a national disaster, Federal Minister for Power Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan said that almost 90 feeders of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco)’s  coastal region might be affected and 2,000 technical officials of the five distribution companies with heavy machinery would give a technical support to the Hesco in case of an emergency throughout the Hesco’s region.

He said this while speaking to media persons during a press conference held at the Hesco office Thursday. He was briefed by the Hesco chief executive officer (CEO) Muzaffar Ali Abbasi and National Transmission Despatch Company (NTDC) managing director Rana Abdul Jabbar.

The minister said that eight towers of the NTDC fell down at Jhampir and the staff  were fixing them as soon as possible. He said that he was nipping down to Mirpur Sakro of the Thatta district to monitor initiatives taken and gain the first-hand information there.

The CEO said that the Hesco with the help of the NTDC, special teams were constituted to protect all transmission lines and grid stations along the entire coastal belt, while employees of the company stayed alert. He said that officials of Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco) were given responsibilities and divided among 13 special teams to help the Hesco employees in districts of Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Mirpurkhas and Tharparkar so that they could restore services of the 11KV feeders and grid stations to the affected areas before and after the powerful and severe cyclone following torrential rains, strong winds and disaster.

He said that the monitoring cell was set up at the Hesco headquarters to monitor the situation where he was heading it and updated the ministry of power and energy and public about the changing situation at every moment.

“We all as a team will knuckle down to work and grapple with this natural catastrophe and strive to restore the power to the areas while employees of the distribution companies (Discos) are playing a role of a frontman discharging their duties enthusiastically,” he said.

He said employees of the disco were working hard to repair the fault and restore electricity to calamity-hit rural areas where the electric polls fell down.

Those who were present included Hesco chief commercial officer Nisar Ahmed Memon, chief engineer Riaz Ahmed Pathan, chief engineer Roshan Odho, Human Resources and administration director general Shafiq Ahmed Memon, deputy manager Ghulam Sarwar Unnar, Superintending Engineer Hyderabad Jalaluddin Abbasi, executive engineer (XEN) Qasimabad Farooq Tunio and XEN Kotri Ikhtiar Ahmed Memon and others.

Meanwhile, The Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD) has informed the government departments concerned and people that Very Severe Intensified Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) “Biparjoy” persisting with its severity slightly, changed its course and now slowly turning north-northeast direction during past 12 hours. The storm has now lied at a distance south of Karachi. Maximum sustained surface winds are 130-150 km/hour gusts 160 Km/hour around the system centre and the favourable environment conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-32 degrees, low vertical wind sheer and upper-level divergence) still supporting the system and may likely to get more severity. There is apprehension of loss of lives of fishermen who are in the sea or may have planned for navigation to the sea and also the people who tend to gather on various beaches for recreational purpose. This situation warrants immediate precautionary measures like prohibiting of going into open sea for fishing, sailing, swimming and bathing and the like. It is necessary to take immediate measures so as to avoid any untoward incident of shipwreck or drowning.

The Karachi divisional commissioner do hereby imposes a complete ban on going into open sea for sailing, fishing, swimming or bathing within the territorial limits of Karachi division for a period from June 11 til the end of the storm while exercising powers under section 144 (6) CrPC delegated by Sindh home department recently.