MINGORA: The excessive loadshedding sparked protests across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Saturday with the participants complaining the electric supply remains suspended for long hours daily to their misery.

In Mingora, the people, including women, staged a rally against the prolonged power outages.

Holding placards and sticks and shouting slogans against Wapda and the federal government, the protesters marched from Saidu Sharif to Nishat Chowk in Mingora. They were later joined by the people from other areas.

Protesters threaten to block roads, besiege Pesco offices

Women holding batons blocked the road to Saidu Sharif and other destinations.

Protester Neelam Chattan said the women had stepped out to protest the excessive loadshedding lasting more than 18 hours a day.

She said men could cool themselves off by bathing in streams and rivers but women had to stay indoors to bear the scorching heat.

Another protester, Arshad Khattak, complained the unscheduled, excessive loadshedding lasting for long hours daily had paralysed life in Swat.

PTI youth wing president Malik Asif Ali Shahzad insisted Swat was subjected to more power outages than other areas of the country and Wapda and the federal government were to blame for that injustice.

“I will raise the issue in the next district council session,” he said. The women protesters complained electric supply remained suspended even during Iftar and Sehar hours.

Councillor Iqbal Jehan said women were unable to do household chores due to the absence of electricity.

Youth activist Waqar Khan criticised the local political leaders for failing to ease the people’s misery.

He alleged that PML-N leader Amir Muqam was behind the excessive loadshedding in the province run by the rival PTI.

Some protesters complained that the PTI, which used to stage sit-ins over petty issues, was silent about the prolonged, unscheduled power cuts in Swat.

The mob later dispersed after AAC Ihsanur Rehman showed up and assured it of scheduled loadshedding in the region.

In Karak, too, scores of people took to the streets against the excessive loadshedding and warned they would besiege the offices of the local Pesco Xen.

They also threatened to stage a sit-in outside the offices of the deputy commissioner after 24 hours.

The call for the Saddam Chowk protest was given by the Jamaat-i-Islami Youth Wing.

The speakers said the local residents were subjected to the excessive loadshedding even during Iftar, Tarweeh and Sehar hours.

They complained the district and divisional administrations weren’t interested in the resolution of the issue.

Also in the day, the people staged rallies in Mansehra city, Baffa, Chaterplane, Oghi, Balakot and other parts of Mansehra district to protest the prolonged and unscheduled loadshedding.

Shouting slogans against the government and Pesco, they also burned old tyres and blocked Abbottabad Road to vent their anger at the excessive loadshedding.

The protesters said the government had miserably failed to address energy crisis to their misery.

They said the Pesco had ignored the government’s announcement by subjecting them to prolonged power cuts even during Iftar, Tarweeh and Sehar hours.

“The electric supply remains suspended for over 16 hours daily in our area paralysing life,” Mohammad Ali said.

The protester said the PML-N had promised to ease power crisis after coming to power but the crisis had worsened since it formed the government.

“Today, we blocked the Abbottabad Road to lodge our protest but if prolonged and unscheduled loadshedding continues, we’ll block the Karakoram Highway for the indefinite period,” he said.

In Khar town of Bajaur Agency, the people complained they’d been without electric supply for two and a half months due to a technical fault in the local grid station.

They said their repeated requests to the Tesco officials for rectifying the fault had fallen on deaf ears.

The Bajaur Traders Association warned it would agitate if the fault in the grid station wasn’t fixed by next week.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2016