Pakistan

My friend who is an experienced and a veteran blogger has asked me to write this post.

Pakistan is passing through the worst period in terms of power supply and electricity load shedding. Living in the second largest city of our country, we are fortunate to be having relatively less of load shedding. But, mind you, the relatively less load shedding means having it for an hour every alternate hour of the day. You can well imagine as to what must be happening in other smaller cities, towns and the rural areas. The foregoing is only the planned part of load shedding. The unplanned part is that you are never certain as to when the light would go off or it would get back.

Load shedding is adversely affecting all sections of society not only in one form or the other of physical and economic aspects but it is also affecting us all psychologically, a loss which is difficult to quantify. Bloggers are no exception. They remain alert and wait for the light hour to begin and get down to their blogging knowing that they have, at best, an hour to do the work before the start of the load shedding hour. However, they are also psychologically constrained for fear of the unplanned part of load shedding. They are all the time writing a line and saving it so that they don't have to start afresh if the light goes off unannounced. This certainly is affecting the quality of writing which can be better done with mind in peace. Bloggers who also write paid posts have added pressures and losses. They can't bid for the posts during the load shedding time and are also under pressure to submit the accepted posts meeting the time deadlines which are in hours. The reader would think as to why don't the bloggers UPS or generators. If the bloggers could afford these luxuries, why should they be blogging?

These days, we are facing the worst of the electricity loadsheddings of our history. Common man, as is always the case, is suffering the most. Almost, everything in the country has come to a stand still, but for the rich and the leaders (who are richer than the rich). If anything is going on as usual is the life style of the rich and the leaders. Our leaders, in the government and the opposition, make tall claims of serving the country and looking after the well being of the masses. We are yet to see anyone setting the personal example. There is no loadshedding in the offices of the higher ups; governors' houses, chief ministers' houses, ministers' offices ad residences, president's house but there is loadshedding in the hospitals and schools. So is the case with the leadership in the opposition. Even if there is loadshedding somewhere, the big generators are there to ensure the continuation of comfortable living anf functioning of them all. We are yet to see a single example of the rich and the leaders commiting to following the schedule of loadshedding and bearing the hardships along with the mases. Has any one of these even vowed not to use the air conditioners and use fans in stead?