PESHAWAR: Protests against electricity loadshedding continued as angry consumers blocked Grand Trunk Road near Nishtarabad, Shabistan Cinema and Kohat Road on Ring Road Chowk here Tuesday.
The protesters burnt old tyres to block the roads and vehicular traffic for more than an hour at the three places. The residents of Gulbahar Colony and Bilal Colony also staged a protest against power breakdown. They chanted slogans against Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and government for their failure to ensure electricity supply. The protesters said they remained without power supply for more than 18 hours against the declared schedule of six to eight hours. The power breakdowns, they said, besides creating water shortage, was causing numerous problems for them in this biting heat.
They said not only load-shedding but constant breakdowns and fluctuation had been damaging their electric appliances. Electricity hide and seek continues for the whole day and its voltage remains too low to operate even a fan when supply is restored, they complained.
Our correspondent adds from Swabi: The residents blocked the Swabi-Jehangira Road in Tordher area for six hours against the unscheduled loadshedding. The protesters led by Muqarab Khan took out a protest procession against the 14-hour long loadshedding in the district. They were chanting slogans against the local Pesco authorities.
When the protesters dispersed, the police raided the house of Muqarab Khan and arrested him. After the incident, the villagers gathered again and blocked the Jehangira-Swabi Road, protesting the arrest of Muqarab Khan.
They also proceeded to the local Pesco office and damaged the furniture. The deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and Pesco officials reached the site and on their assurance the protesters opened the road and dispersed peacefully.
Our correspondent adds from Karak: The residents of Banda Daud Shah tehsil Tuesday extended a five-day ultimatum to the government and threatened to block the Indus Highway if smooth supply of power was not ensured to the area.
Hundreds of area’s residents took to the street to condemn the hours-long power breakdowns and gave five-day ultimatum to the government to end the loadshedding or else they would block the Indus Highway for traffic.
Reports of protests against power outages were also received from other parts of the province, where load-shedding duration was greater than that of the urban areas. Our correspondent adds from Kohat: The doctors and patients in the District Headquarters Hospital staged a protest demonstration against the unscheduled loadshedding on Tuesday.
Sources said a team of doctors was carrying out an eye surgery in the operation theatre when all of a sudden the power supply was disrupted. Taking an exception to the loadshedding, the doctors, patients and attendants staged a protest demonstration in the hospital. They chanted slogans against the local Pesco authorities and provincial government for their alleged failure to overcome the electricity crisis.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent of DHQ Hospital Dr Abdur Rasheed said, “There is a separate connection line of 11KV to the hospital but the authorities have resorted to unscheduled loadshedding to the hospital for the last three days,” adding, a generator provided to the hospital was ‘short of fuel’.
When contacted, the Pesco authorities said loadshedding was being carried out on the directives of Islamabad. Meanwhile, members of Kohat Doctors Association, including Dr Farid Afridi, Dr Younas Nadeem, Dr Irfanullah and Dr Mehr Ali, threatened to launch a protest demonstration if the government did not stop unnecessary and unscheduled loadshedding in the hospital.
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