PESHAWAR, Jan 2: Hours-long disruption of electricity and gas supply and unabated surge in prices of wheat flour have made lives of the people in Peshawar and other parts of the province very miserable.

The price of a 20-kilogramme bag of flour has almost doubled over the past three months as it is now being sold at Rs500 in the general market where it used to be available at Rs270 just three months ago.

A 20-kilogramme bag of wheat at Utility Stores is being sold at Rs260, but its supply is scant as long queues of women, children and aged people can be witnessed in front of all these stores on a daily basis. More than half of the people return without purchasing the basic commodity because of extremely short supply of the commodity.

Similarly, gas and power load-shedding has taken a very serious trun, especially over the past one week.

Power supply remains suspended for 6 to 8 hours daily at day time and that too without any prior time schedule.

Due to power load-shedding, the supply of water from tube-wells or main tanks has become impossible.

People complain that they cannot fill their overhead tanks as they are always short of water.

Students are the worst victim of this state of affairs as they are unable to prepare themselves for their mid-term examinations, which are due to commence in February or March in most educational institutions of the province.

The frequent suspension of natural gas for long hours to various localities has made it impossible for the people to cook food.

The supply of Sui gas is restored only for some hours at midnights, with regular suspension during peak hours of morning and evening.

Talking to Dawn, an official of the Sui Northern Gas Company confirmed that localities away from the main supply lines were facing low pressure of gas, while the situation was better in areas which were close to the main line.

Owing to low gas pressure, operators of various CNG filling stations in the capital city are facing serious problems.Long queues of vehicles can be seen at all filling stations of the city the whole day.

Owners of CNG stations told Dawn that low gas pressure coupled with power load-shedding had badly affected the entire supply system.

They said both problems were of serious nature, causing unease among consumers across the province.

Meanwhile, the Sui Northren Gas Company is reported to have suspended supply of natural gas to more than 120 industrial units in the NWFP to meet the demand of domestic consumers and CNG stations. The step has affected the production of goods at these units.

Naushera correspondent adds: Hundreds of people staged a noisy protest in front of offices of the SNGC against non-supply of Sui gas to their area and chanted slogans against the government.

The protestors, led by local elders Haji Razim Khan, Malik Wilayat and others, warned Sui gas authorities to resume gas supply by 10am on Thursday or they would block the Grand Trunk Road in protest.

They also expressed their anguish over the excessive power load-shedding in their area and termed it a failure of the government.