KHAIRPUR: A complete shutter-down was observed in Babarloi — one of the main business centres of Khairpur taluka — on Tuesday in protest against suspension of power supply to the entire town a day earlier.

Crowds of consumers, including businessmen, traders and shopkeepers, took to the streets of the town and assembled on the main Babarloi Road disrupting road communication between Khairpur and Sukkur as well as the routes leading to Punjab.

Representatives of the protesters said that the Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco) had been subjecting the town to heavy loadshedding for several weeks and on Monday the Rohri sub-division stopped power supply to the entire town without assigning any reason.

They said they tried to speak to the Sepco officials concerned but they declined to talk to anybody on the issue.

Till the filing of the report late in the evening, power supply to the town was not restored.

A delegation of Babarloi elites was trying to approach the Sepco officials concerned in Khairpur, Sukkur and Baberloi to ascertain a reason for the action and negotiate the restoration of power supply to the town.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2014