While many rejoiced over the news of load-shedding finishing, a local man in Lahore wasn’t all that happy. He supposedly is one of many to have requested Pemra to disallow the news to be delivered so openly. Their objection is simple: “ BIJLI KAI PAISAY TUMHARA BAAP DAI GA ” (Will your father give money for the electricity?). Such was the response of Usman Shakoor who belongs to a lower middle-class town of Not DHA. Usman Shakoor says that not having electricity for half the day was annoying at first but he and his family have gotten used to it now. He said that “more importantly load-shedding started saving us money because if there was no electricity we really didn’t have to pay for anything”. He further added that they purchased a UPS just a year ago and that too for the kids. But, UPS automatically meant no appliances with heavy loads. With load-shedding gone, Usman say’s the family has no choice but to pay for their fridge and washing machine. They have long forgotten the convenience of having them in the first place. Usman claims that there are others like him. They too, feel that while the government has provided electricity, it should also give them the option to pretend in front of their kids that there is none. This request might just be the right amount of absurd for Pemra, which is sometimes known to censor thing for reasons best known to the organization alone. Everyone doesn’t share Usman’s story though. Memoona, an A-Level’s student from DHA says that she never really thought of it as an issue since power outage was not a norm at their place. For her, the only difference is that her centrally air-conditioned house will now shift from generators permanently to WAPDA. She thinks this is good for the country and feels proud to be using Pakistani energy. Memoona is currently in Paris for her winter break with family but she is very excited to come back to a fully powered Pakistan.
