Karachi – As light to moderate rain continued to lash the city on Friday, two young men tragically lost their lives due to electrocution in separate incidents reported from SITE and Surjani Town.
Despite several warnings and recurring tragedies during monsoon seasons, civic infrastructure in Karachi remains woefully underprepared. The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has yet to complete the de-silting of major stormwater drains, resulting in waterlogged streets and severe traffic disruptions across the city. Roads under town municipal corporations’ control fared no better, with commuters facing long delays amid submerged and damaged routes.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Surjani Town recorded the highest rainfall at 16 millimetres, followed by Bahria Town with 10.2mm, North Karachi 6.8mm, Orangi Town 6.1mm, Gulshan-i-Maymar 5.4mm, and Saddar with 5mm. Other areas of the city experienced light showers or traces of rainfall.
In the SITE area, 20-year-old Kamran Asghar, a factory worker, lost his life after receiving a fatal electric shock inside an industrial unit around 1:30am. SITE police confirmed the incident, with SHO Sajjad Khan Afridi stating that the young man was electrocuted during his night shift.
A similar incident occurred in Surjani Town where 21-year-old Ahmed Haider Ali died after coming in contact with the metal gate of his house during rainfall. SHO Mohammed Ali Shah confirmed that the gate had apparently become electrified due to water exposure.
Tragedy also struck near Bakra Piri, where an unidentified young man died when a wall collapsed amid the rain. The body was shifted to Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital for identification and post-mortem.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has forecast continued rain and thunderstorm activity, with moderate to heavy downpours expected in Karachi and other districts including Hyderabad, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Badin, Thatta, Dadu, Sukkur, Larkana, and Tharparkar till Sunday.
As is often the case, the first spell of rain also exposed the fragility of Karachi’s power infrastructure. Widespread outages were reported across various neighbourhoods, leaving residents without electricity for hours on end. In many areas, power wasn’t restored for up to 10 hours, forcing people to spend a restless night.
K-Electric, in its statement, claimed that power supply remained uninterrupted through more than 1,600 of its 2,100 feeders. It said that some feeders in low-lying areas were temporarily isolated as a safety measure, and field teams were dispatched to restore supply.
Despite such reassurances, the lived reality of Karachi’s residents tells a different story — one of frustration, danger, and a city perennially caught off-guard by rain it knows will come.
