social
issue
Warning: Children for sale
The trend of selling children has gained strength in parts of Sindh, where placards in both Urdu and Sindhi that bear slogans announcing children for sale are often seen dotting the roadsides
By Adeel Pathan
It has been learnt that the sale of children has become the latest trend of dealing with poverty in the province of Sindh. As the trend has gained strength, placards in both Urdu and Sindhi that bear slogans announcing children for sale are often seen dotting the roadsides.

Ahsan Iqbal (not his real name) has a special switch in his three-bedroom apartment. It is a switch that he rarely forgets to turn off every evening before settling down in front of the television in the cool comfort of his new split air conditioner.

In morning on his way out to work, he always remembers to turn the switch back on. He then takes the electricity meter reading, and repeats the routine when he returns in the evening.

This little switch slows down electricity meters, concealing the actual number of power units consumed. Iqbal, who resides in the middle-income locality of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, says it would have been impossible for him to survive without it amid rampant inflation.

"It has cut my power bill by almost half," Iqbal he told Kolachi.

Iqbal is not alone. There are many who confess to resorting to such measures in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, and many more in the flats located along Rashid Minhas Road. They all justify it by claiming that the poor performance of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has left them with no other choice.

Such theft, however, puts tremendous strain on the dilapidated distribution system of the KESC.

"The substations, transformers, and wires were not initially installed to handle the amount of electricity load actually being withdrawn," said Sibte Ahmed Jafri, President Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers Pakistan.

Since the controversial privatisation of the KESC in 2005, little has been invested in its transmission and distribution system, which frequently collapses under the burden of excessive power load.

"There is immediate need for investing in the transmission and distribution system," Jafri said, and warned that any enhancement in generation capacity would not bear fruit otherwise.

A heavy investment in the power plants and distribution network will require a strong commitment on part of the new management, which recently took charge. Already, the KESC is suffering from accumulated financial losses of over Rs51 billion. Even though the private equity firm Abraaj Capital, the KESC's biggest shareholder, has injected close to 350 million dollars, power breakdowns have not ceased. In fact, breakdowns have become longer in duration over the past two years.

As a prerequisite to Abraaj Capital taking management control of the KESC, the government has corrected some anomalies in the implementation agreement. The four-percent cap on quarterly fuel surcharge adjustment, for example, has been removed, and the power supply of state-owned entities that do not pay electricity bill will now be switched off.

Still, there are numerous problems with the current system. Presently, the total installed capacity of the KESC is 1,756 megawatts, but in reality, only close to1,320MW is being produced.

The remaining demand is met through independent power projects and the Water and Power Development Authority. The number of transformers in the city, which lower high voltages to the level needed to run home appliances, is not enough to meet the requirement. The 54 grid stations that transmit electricity over long distances are not enough to cover all of Karachi.

According to a report by KESC directors, 11 grid stations were to be installed by September 2008, however, only two new grid stations have been installed in as many years, and work on those began before the KESC was privatised. The KESC plans to add another 1,000MW to its supply within three years. It already has power plants in Karachi generating 220MW, but these have not yet been connected to the system.

However, the existing KESC power plants and power stations do not perform at their optimum level. Thermal Power Station (TPS) Bin Qasim, for example, has an installed capacity of 1,260MW, but produces just 1,150MW. Meanwhile, TPS Korangi, has an installed capacity of 316MW, but produces 160MW.

In addition to this, the KESC has two power generators capable of generating 80MW each, but one is mostly out of order. Two smaller gas thermal power stations at Korangi and SITE Town have an installed capacity of 180MW, but according to Ain-ul-Abedin, a power consultant, the efficiency of these power plants ranges between 20 percent and 34 percent. At such a low efficiency rate, the power plants consume extra fuel to generate electricity, which leads to a high power tariff.

"The KESC must convert steam power stations to combined cycle (cogeneration) urgently, especially those operating on natural gas," he said. "Diminishing reserves of natural gas warrant optimum use of this resource."

The biggest consumer of the KESC is the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). Even though franchise areas of the SSGC have not suffered a gas shortfall the way Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province have, experts predict that the coming years will be tough.

"The KESC's problems can only be resolved when its main power stations have an efficient combined cycle design, and when it buys economical power from hundreds of potential small power producers," said Abedin.

Against the backdrop of such suggestions, experts are questioning the decision of the new management to use diesel-fired 50MW power plant as a stopgap measure, and advise caution when taking decisions, especially when the takeover deal has been shrouded in controversy.

Meanwhile, Ahsan says he will continue to steal electricity. "I am not the only one doing this," he maintains, "There are thousands of others. If they stop, I will stop."

Power crisis in the city has hit the poor the most as they cannot afford a generator or a UPS to beat the heat. But for those fortunate enough, Gibran Ashraf highlights the advantages and disadvantages of alternative power supply

Welcome to the third season of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation's (KESC) electricity hide and seek, the darkest series of Pakistan, watched by over 180 million Pakistanis at least once a day.

Into its third year now, although the load shedding series has become better as the power outages increase steadily, its fans are decreasing year by year. Popular though this series is, there are always those who prefer to have their rooms bedecked with lights rather than the peaceful bliss of darkness, as more and more people switch to the supplementary electricity show.

This show has two versions. One is very noisy, but quite bright and is called the Generator. The other is a lot quieter but runs for a shorter duration and has less power. This one is called the Uninterrupted Power Supply, or UPS for short.

Out of the three, the load shedding show is available for free and the show has a large audience in the low-income neighbourhoods of the city. The UPS comes in second, with a price tag of around Rs15,000, giving a continuous show lasting around six hours per episode. The Generator comes in last, with prices starting from Rs20,000. Audience share aside, the question remains as to who is the winner.

Let us start with the trusty KESC. With no charge for the dark show and a 40 percent reduction for its light show, its reach is remarkable. However, as well as starving the audience for choice or variety, it is notorious for its bad timing. There is also no limit to the amount of reruns per day, signified by the careful rearrangement of the KESC offices, the refreshing showers of stones, and the exquisite gifts of burning tyres.

Our first runner up, the UPS, has enjoyed a good run in the past few years, but questions are being asked: has it passed its peak? Costing around Rs6,000 for its base unit and an additional Rs8,000 for the lead-acid battery pack, it can provide a small light show for up to six hours if fully charged.

Ironically, the time required to charge the battery is greater than the duration of the actual light show. In some cases, the battery lasts barely a year before it needs to be replaced with a new one. It makes for a peaceful couple of hours, but with the ability to run just one fan and five lights at any given time, it is the second best. Overall, it does not add too much to the power bill, and its low price makes it a strong favourite for the People's Choice Award.

Last but not the least, we have the generator. This comes in a host of sizes, ranging from as small as trash can to as big as a room. Generators provide a light show 'on demand' with good power for as long as you want, provided you remember to keep its belly full all the time. This monster power producer comes with hefty price tags. With prices starting from Rs20,000 for the smallest ones to over Rs500,000 for the bigger ones, it is definitely not cheap. Neither is its reliance on diesel, petrol or gas. However, by far the greatest expense this show incurs is that of sound mufflers. Generators produce a deafening sound, recognisable from far away. People have wizened up, though: they are having gas convertors installed on their petrol generators to save on petrol costs, similar to the exodus to CNG conversion a few years ago.

As a result, sales of the UPS have gone down by almost 70 percent, while generators have seen a boom as more and more people learn to hook them up to their gas supplies at home. All thanks to the KESC, indeed.

Where on one hand the government claims that country is unable to generate enough power to meet the needs of the growing population of this 'City of Lights', on the other it turns a blind eye to the illegal kunda connections in the city.

It has been learnt through various quarters in the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) that approximately 0.5 million consumers in Karachi reccive their power through llegal connections. Despite the efforts of the KESC to check the practice, electricity in Karachi in many instances is openly stolen from main electric poles and lines in various parts of the city.

A visit to congested city areas like Orangi Town, Liaquatabad, Lines Area, Malir, Landhi, Surjani Town and other older parts in the city confirm the claim that many houses get their power supply through unauthorized connections.

The power theft, however, is not limited to residential areas. Industrial consumers are equally involved in this malpractice. Moreover, Kolachi also learnt that a number of police stations get their supply of electricity through a kunda connection too.

While in some parts, the theft is arbitrary and without any sort of system, In other parts of the city the practice is more 'organised' where illegal connections are sold to the public for nominal flat charges each month. The business is common is some parts of Orangi Town – which is also the town from where the first ever kunda connection was reported. Burmi Colony in Orangi Town was the area where this practice was introduced. It is learnt that certain groups in the area today charge an amount of Rs250 per month as the "electricity bill" from consumers for a kunda connection.

The history of kunda system, however, is not very old. In the mid eighties, when the management of KESC had imposed a ban on new legal connections, many houses were deprived of the basic facility and were compelled to opt for an illegal connection. Back then, kundas were somewhat awarded a 'legal' status.

There were certain houses in the metropolis at the time that would connect to a kunda after seeking permission from the concerned department in KESC. An amount was fixed for this type of service as well (referred to as a monthly bill) and a receipt would be sent to the consumer every month as well, it has been learnt.

But that official sanction has ended but the kunda practice has grown several fold. Some farm houses in Hub, Vindar Othal, Bela and Gadap were also indentified to Kolachi where power is being consumed though the kunda system.

Similarly, in Machar Colony merely 5 to 10 per cent connections are legal, while the remaining population is dependent on kundas. According to an estimate, the number of housing units was estimated to be 0.1 million in this katchi abadi. In other parts where power connections are legal, consumers have not paid the electricity bill for several months, but electricity supply has not been disrupted by the KESC officials.

Generally, the theft of electricity does not require much skill. A ladder and the services of a willing electrician is enough. Because electricity in most parts of the city is supplied through exposed cables on the street, one can easily access the electricity pole through a ladder.

However, there is another method too. Power can not only be stolen through electricity cables, but one can tamper electricity meters as well. It is learnt that some 'skillful' electricians tamper electricity meters in a manner that it would display less units of electricity consumed than the actual consumption. The new electricity meters have also failed, say many.

This made it convenient for most to steal electricity through poles at the end of every street and the trend gradually picked up even among the affluent class who can afford to pay their power bills but do not want to.

During the early nineties, the builder mafia exploited the situation and spread the use to kunda in housing complexes too. In some cases the entire pole mounted transformer (PMT) supplied electricity without even installing a meter.

The KESC claims to have a separate department to check this illegal practice. However, one can see kunda connections in almost every area of the city. Officials also seek assistance of the police to discourage the practice, but residents manage to bribe them too.

Under the Electricity Act 1910, one can be fined or imprisoned if found to be involved in theft of electricity. But, one is yet to see the trial of such an offender. Furthermore, the Revenue Protection Department of KESC is also authorized to take action against illegal connections.

But the temptation to grease palms and enrich one's self leads to power being stolen with the connivance of the power company staff. Despite all the tall claims of the various managements that the KESC has seen, the Kunda connection culture continues unhindered.

When Mujahid Khan was out of work living in the slums of Baldia Town, he did not know where to turn. What he really wanted to do was become a soldier or a journalist, but both dreams remained elusive: his parents' meager resources meant Mujahid was unable to even complete school.

Then he stumbled upon a string of magic shows at a school in Baldia. "When I saw the magicians perform, I wanted to become one too," he recalls.

M.J. Khan, a middle-aged magician, took note of his budding interest, and took him under his wing. Soon, Mujahid began training with Khan, and it was not long before he wowed his friends from the neighbourhood with all he had learnt.

Then, one of his unemployed friends, who had moved to the United States, related an experience that convinced Mujahid to enter the business.

"My friend performed a few tricks at a park in California, and kids and parents alike were amazed. They started giving him dollar for each trick. In an hour, he had earned about 100 dollars."

This was back in the nineties. Today, Mujahid has come a long way from entertaining just his neighbourhood. He says he can fly, drive blind-folded, transform burning paper into fresh currency, and produce a live chick from a tennis ball. Among those in the magic trade, Mujahid is known as the 'Magic Master'.

With close to a thousand tricks under his belt, this Magic Master has been channelling his talents through the first ever academy for magic tricks in Pakistan. Initially, Mujahid trained people free of cost, but skyrocketing prices forced him to transform it into a business.

Today, the academy churns out hundreds of young boys and girls who earn thousands of rupees through stage shows at schools, clubs, hotels, and family get-togethers. Their wallets are growing, as well as their reputation. Some of his students include celebrities, such as comedian Moin Akhtar, who Mujahid has taught 50 tricks.

"I like training youngsters," says Mujahid. "It keeps them away from anti-social activities. "Until they get a proper job, they can have their own magic shows as a side business. Non-governmental organisations always welcome them."

As a tribute to his old teacher, who is 87 today, the academy has been named after M.J. Khan. So far, the academy is not registered, but Mujahid hopes it will be one day as more students join. He wistfully says that if he got just a little recognition from the government, he could bring laurels for the country and mint in foreign exchange.

"Whenever my students have performed in the Middle East or Europe, they have been asked who their master was," he said proudly.

He does warn, however, that performing tricks requires a lot of hard work.

"Hard work is essential if you want to amuse and surprise people," he maintained. "You can never repeat tricks at the same place."

Mujahid's success story in the world of magic tricks allowed him to finally achieve at least one of his dreams. He may not have become a soldier or a journalist, but after making his way through by producing live chicks from tennis balls, he has managed to successfully publish a monthly children's magazine.

urban development

Residents who live in the area surrounding the newly-built road where Sabzi Mandi used to exist are pleased with the rolling path the Muttahida Qaumi Movement has put in place, but not everyone agrees.

"Just take a look at our city five to 10 years back, and see how it has transformed," says Abdul Saleem, 52. "I am satisfied to see the way this road has been constructed."

Javed Aslam, who uses the road regularly, is equally pleased with the road. "With this new broad road, I can reach my workplace in 20 minutes. Before, it used to take from 45 minutes to an hour," he says.

However, those who have business running on either the side of the road, have a different opinion. With the work on the new road completed, the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) placed new bus stops on the roadside, but according to the business community in the area, these have not been suitably placed.

"Buses do not stop at the designated area," is a recurring complaint.

One particular bus stop has been built right outside a popular restaurant on the road, which has angered the management of the restaurant.

"Our sales have gone to a record low from the day this bus shelter was placed in front of our eating place," laments Saleem Raja, manager of the restaurant. "We tried to complain, but our efforts were futile."

Those running businesses in the area have also complained that the roads are not properly maintained. They say that both sides of the road on the stretch from Hassan Square to Mazaar-e-Quaid are littered with heaps of garbage.

These, however, are not the only complaints.

"Our businesses have been affected by this new road," says Akhter, who owns a CNG showroom at New MA Jinnah road. "Shop rentals have gone up by 30 percent, which we cannot afford at a point where the economic slump has become a global happening."

Saood Mirza, owner of a rental car showroom, adds: "We cannot park the vehicles on the road for service and repair, because the government did not allot any space in front of our shops. We have to park our clients' vehicles on the opposite road in front of the bungalows."

In turn, those living in the bungalows adjacent to these showrooms complain of the inconvenience these extra vehicles have caused them.

"The vehicles create traffic jams, and the boundary walls of our house have been destroyed with political graffiti," lament the residents.

When contacted, City Nazim Mustafa Kamal told Kolachi that the roads are being maintained by the CDGK, and refuted the idea that the bus stops had been ill-placed.

"If the drivers of the buses do not synchronise with the traffic police, it is not our problem. That is a matter of law and traffic-enforcement agencies."

Kamal acknowledged that traffic jams remained a problem at Faizaan-e-Madina three times a week because of a public gathering, but insisted that this, too, would be resolved.

"Discussions are under way with the administration of Faizan-e-Madina, and there will soon be a solution," he says optimistically.

Photos by Athar Khan

It has been learnt that the sale of children has become the latest trend of dealing with poverty in the province of Sindh. As the trend has gained strength, placards in both Urdu and Sindhi that bear slogans announcing children for sale are often seen dotting the roadsides.

Parents blame poverty, along with the failure of relevant authorities to dispense justice. One particular mother from Hyderabad, who wished to remain anonymous, sold her child in the local markets to meet her daily expenses. She said she had no choice. Her husband, she said, was languishing in a jail in Sukkur for a crime he did not commit.

This particular woman, however, was among the lucky persons whose case was taken up by a non-governmental organisation (NGO). With the help of the NGO, the woman not only managed to rent a house in Karachi, she got her husband released on bail.

Others have been less fortunate. A father in Larkana sold his son for Rs50, 000 to pay for his mother's treatment in hospital, where she was receiving medical attention for severe burns. Today, his son is exploited in melas and dances in festivals.

Meanwhile, in Hyderabad, Ghulam Rasool, who used to be a part of the police force, arrived at the Hyderabad Press Club with his three children up for sale. Jobless after being sacked, he has been unable to find employment anywhere else, and with a wife, three sons, and a daughter, it became impossible for him to meet his daily expenses.

The act of selling children, however, is punishable by law. "According to the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child, Islamic Laws, and the constitution of Pakistan, parents or guardians have no right to sell their children," stated Kashif Bajeer, Regional Protection Manager of the NGO Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC).

Bajeer pointed out that selling a child is a crime, and condemned those who partake in such trade in the name of unemployment or poverty.

"They should be arrested and sent for investigation," he asserted. "If parents have become so helpless, the government should establish orphanages in every district of the province. It is the responsibility of the state to look after the children."