Cold wave in Balochistan leaves people in dire straits

Quetta: Cold waves continue to engulf Quetta and other parts of Balochistan. The temperature in Ziarat has dropped to -17 degrees Celsius, and the Met Office predicts that the severe cold wave will last for the next two days across the province.

According to the Department of Meteorology, the weather continues to be very cold throughout Balochistan, including Quetta, while strong winds affected visibility in the province’s coastal areas, including Kech, Washuk, Kharan, Panjgur, Awaran, Chagai, and adjacent areas, while the situation in the sea remained uneven.

The Met Office stated that the temperature in Ziarat was -17 degrees Celsius, -6 degrees Celsius in Quetta, -7 degrees Celsius in Kalat, and -5 degrees Celsius in Mastung. If the current trend continues, the weather in the province will remain bitterly cold.

After hearing about the snowfall, tourists flocked to Quetta Valley; however, many are hampered by the closure of connecting roads. Snowfall in various districts north of Balochistan has resulted in significantly lower temperatures. The cold has been so intense that water has frozen on the roadside and in ponds throughout the city, and dew on vehicles has also frozen at night.

People in Quetta and surrounding areas are having difficulty coping with the cold weather because of low gas pressures that vary across the city. Women, children, and the elderly are particularly vulnerable in this extremely cold weather.

To stay warm, people in the city have turned to dry fruit shops, green tea stalls, and soup shops, which appear crowded during the day but close in the evening due to the severe cold. There has also been an increase in the buying and selling of warm clothes in the city. Those who can afford it from most parts of the province, including the provincial capital, have travelled to other, warmer areas of the country, such as Karachi, to spend their winter holidays. Those without means to travel, on the other hand, face significant challenges.

Haji Agha Gul Khilji, senior vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Quetta (QCCI), has expressed his concern about the gas shutdown, lack of pressure, and unannounced load shedding of electricity in the provincial capital and stated that Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) have failed to supply gas and electricity to customers, and as a result, residents of Quetta are compelled to protest.

Severe cold weather, gas load-shedding and pressure reduction, as well as unannounced electricity load-shedding, have all had a negative impact on the domestic and commercial lives of the people of Quetta, according to Haji Agha Gul Khilji.

“Now, the irony is that in various districts of the province, people are facing unannounced and prolonged load shedding of electricity, as well as gas shutdowns and pressure drops in severe cold weather, which is a cause for concern, and that is why people are protesting against SSGC and QESCO in different areas of Quetta,” he added.

“There is a water shortage in different residential areas due to the leakage of frozen water pipes in the winter,” Ashraf Ahmed, a resident of Sirki Road, explained. he severity of the cold and unannounced and prolonged load-shedding routines of gas and electricity have had an adverse impact on life in most districts of Balochistan.