By Bilal Farooqi

KARACHI: The shopkeepers at shopping centres and popular shopping places in the city are perturbed because of the increasing power breakdowns and load-sheddings, and claim that their profits have slashed by almost 50 percent because of this crisis.

They also fear that the worst scenario is yet to come when the summer season will be at its peak.

The increasing power cuts throughout the city have taken a heavy toll on the commercial activities in the city and from manufacturers to retailers, all have found it difficult to cope with the prevalent situation.

"The increasing power outages have really disturbed our businesses and we think the worst is still to come," said a shopkeeper dealing in apparels at Gulf Shopping Mall situated in the Clifton area.

"Because of the simmering summer heat, the customers prefer shops with air-conditioners, but the power cuts deprive us of even running a fan…this situation has badly dented our business activities," he said.

The shops situated inside shopping centres are most affected, as most of the city’s shopping centres are constructed in a manner where there is a lack of a proper ventilation system. Because of power outages, they become highly uncomfortable zones for shoppers.

"The customers have reduced by almost half in number in the last few days," said a cosmetics store owner in Golden Tower Shopping Mall in Defence.

"Our profits are down nearly 50 percent as the customers are no longer come in large numbers during day times," he said.

The shopping centres are also restricted timing for operating to save energy, therefore they cannot run their business late night.

"This really affects us we cannot keep our shops open late at night, while customers hesitate to come at day timings", the cosmetic store owner added.

Also, most of the shops, which deal in items such as apparels and jewellery, usually display their items in a number of lights to present them in a more attractive fashion. The shopkeepers are unable to highlight their items in a proper manner during power cuts.

Most of the shopkeepers have bought small generators to meet their energy needs, but the high prices of petrol and diesel prevent them for using these for prolonged periods.

"The duration of power outages sometimes last for about five to six hours. How can we afford to run our shops with generators for such long periods," said a jeweller at Tariq Road.

"The cost of doing business will become too high if we carry on using generators, and therefore this is not the solution," he added.