TAXILA, April 18: Residents of various localities of Hassanabdal on Wednesday blocked Rawalpindi-Peshawar G.T. Road for over one hour as they took out a rally against unabated and unscheduled hours-long power outages which they complained had crippled their daily routine.

The charged protesters burnt tyres and put traffic out of gear at around 4pm to register their protest and anger. Carrying placards, banners, sticks and clubs, they complained of passing sleepless nights. They chanted anti-government and anti-Wapda slogans.

Protesters said massive power outages badly affected all segment of the society particularly traders, shopkeepers, office-goers, students, businesses and even patients at various public and private hospitals.

Traders said business activities came to a halt due to excessive power outages. They said they lodged a number of complaints with the authorities, but to no avail.

Naeem Mughal, a resident of the area, said the unscheduled loadshedding had badly disturbed his family life.

“The heat is unbearable; I cannot afford buying an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) device and the 16-hour long loadshedding every day makes life difficult for my family,” he said.

The motorists traveling on inter-provincial route had to face great inconvenience.

On getting information, heavy contingent of police flanked by Wapda authorities reached there and after successful negotiations with protesters restored the traffic.