LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Dec 13: Hundreds of tribesmen blocked the Peshawar-Torkham road at Teddi bazaar in Jamrud on Wednesday to protest against frequent loadshedding in the area.

Baton-wielding women, children and men blocked the road from the morning till late in the evening by placing heavy boulders and stones there.

The protesters threatened that they would continue the blockade till the authorities concerned assured them of uninterrupted supply of electricity.

Long hours of loadshedding have affected life in the region, where people rely on high-voltage heaters and ovens for cooking and heating.

Wapda officials say that they are compelled to resort to loadshedding because of unauthorised and excessive use of electricity by local people.

The Khyber Agency political administration did not make any effort to lift the blockade.

The administration had in the past imposed heavy fines after road blockades on tribesmen under the Collective Territorial Responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.