larkana/islamabad

Severe heatwave accompanied by loadshedding has gripped several cities of interior Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday.
A report said that seven people lost their lives due to heatstroke in different areas.
The temperature has gone up to 47 degrees centigrade in Larkana and 42 in Sukkur. Other areas of Sindh that suffer from heat include Rohri, Saleh Pat, Pano Aqil, Jacobabad, Jamshoro, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari and other cities. In Punjab, Bahawalpur and other plain areas suffer from heat the most.
The people are compelled to stay home, while the number of students in schools and colleges across the provinces has also declined. The patients in the hospitals are also facing torments due to heat wave plus load shedding. The sale of ice and cold drinks is on rise as the temperature increased in the provinces.
Meanwhile, Caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar khan Khoso is to chair an important meeting regarding load shedding crisis on Monday.
The meeting, also to be participated by higher authorities of the Ministry of Water and Power, has been summoned in the wake of heavy protests by the masses over continuous rise in loadshedding along with rise in the mercury.  The Ministry of Petroleum has already warned of paucity of any further revenue with the Pakistan State Oil to pay for furnace oil, the reserves of which have touched low.
The PSO has been known to have demanded an immediate payment of Rs 15 billion from the Finance Ministry to enable the purchase of oil.  The masses would be eyeing the meeting with fervent hopes that this meeting would be helpful in resolving some longstanding solutions, while various steps regarding preservation of electricity could also be mulled.
In another development, 65 per cent areas of Lahore plunged into darkness as the national grid station stopped supplying electricity to the city. Lesco officials said that 13 grid stations have been shut.