LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Sept 17: Hundreds of gun-toting tribesmen blocked the Peshawar-Torkhum highway at Jamrud on Monday for nearly twelve hours in protest against loadshedding in the area.

The protesting residents of Jamrud brought the traffic to halt from early Monday morning till late in the afternoon. Afghan families, trailers and oil tankers taking aid and oil to Afghanistan suffered the most due to the road closure. Women and children were seen walking on foot for miles in the scorching sun to bypass the blockade.

Some protesters resorted to aerial firing to keep away people from trying to break the blockade. Many light vehicles, however, took the narrow streets and unfrequented routes through the Jamrud residential area to reach the other side of the road.

The protesters chanted slogans against Wapda authorities and officials of the local administration for failing to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the month of Ramazan. Some protesters demanded a share in the royalty of Warsak Dam.

The protesters demanded a separate grid station for Jamrud. They complained that the unscheduled power outage had not only affected their routine life but also resulted in shortage of water.

They accused the local administration of backing out from their promise of an uninterrupted supply of electricity during Ramazan.

Many protesters complained that they had stopped sending their children to schools due to loadshedding.

The blockade was lifted after a committee was formed comprising local elders that would meet the NWFP governor on Tuesday to apprise him about their grievances.