SWABI, Oct 9: Life in Swabi district and its suburbs was paralyzed by a storm on Saturday. Powerful winds began slamming the district early in the morning and were still pummelling the area when this report was filed.

A majority of shops in the main bazaar remained closed and people chose to stay indoors.

It was quite difficult to ply trade in the stormy weather, one businessman said. Business also remained suspended in other cities, including Chota Lahore, Topi, Yar Hussain, Shewa Adda and Gadoon.

The hide-and-seek of power supply continued unabated. Even in the district headquarters, electricity supply remained snapped for hours, disrupting business, especially those of cyber cafes.

Officials of the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company said that in such weather it was not possible for them to ensure smooth power supply.

People in the far-flung areas blasted the power utility, saying it always looked for excuses to stop electricity supply.