MINGORA: The residents of Malookabad, Rang Mohallah, Tahirabad, Fizagat, Mingora, Saidu Sharif and other areas here on Tuesday took to streets against prolonged gas loadshedding.

The protesters threatened to shut the entire district if government failed to resolve the issue of gas loadshedding. The protest was also joined by tehsil nazim and district councillors.

“The pressure of gas is very low in this freezing weather as gas has been supplied to Dir, Batkhela and Amandara from the main pipeline of district Swat. It causes gas loadshedding in Swat,” said the protesters.

They said that government should lay new pipeline to supply gas to other districts.

“It is very good that gas has been supplied to other areas but there should be new pipelines or government should increase capacity of the existing pipelines so that every area can get its required amount of gas. Of the 150 pounds of gas, only 50 pounds of gas is supplied to Swat. It is unacceptable,” said Yousaf Ali, a tehsil councillor of Malookabad.

The protesters said that women would also stage protest if government failed to resolve the issue of gas loadshedding. Setting a deadline of 18 January for the government, they said that protests would be observed at all the squares of Mingora on 19 January if the issue was not resolved.

BODY: The body of an eleven-year-old girl was found in the mountains of Maloch village in Kabal tehsil of Swat district.

According to police, the deceased was identified as Shazma, a resident of Deolai village. They said that the girl was tortured to death by unidentified people.

Parents of the girl told police said that she had been missing for the last four days. They said that they had no enmity with anyone.

Police registered a case against unidentified persons and started investigation.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2017