KARAK: The local traders and councillors have decided to launch a protest movement against the prolonged power loadshedding and low gas pressure.

The decision was made in a joint meeting of the councillors and traders in Takth-i-Nusrati here on Sunday. Councillor Ittehad president Maulana Arshad Nawaz Azizi led the councillors while traders were led by their president Mujahid Mehboob in the meeting.

The participants of the meeting expressed concerns over excessive loadshedding and low gas pressure in the district.

They said that women were forced to use firewood for cooking and other needs in the houses. They added that unscheduled loadshedding surpassed 20 hours daily.

Karak traders and councillors set two-week deadline for resolution of issues

The speakers said that power loadshedding and low gas pressure had affected business activities in the district.

They said that they would not tolerate such situation anymore and would take to streets against it.

The participants of the meeting set two-week deadline for resolution of the issues, threatening to launch a protest movement across the district after expiry of the deadline.

Meanwhile, the women councillors have demanded of Prime Minister Imran Khan to review survey of Benazir Income Support Programme as poor women were not beneficiaries of the scheme.

The demand was made by women members of different union councils including Zafran Bibi, Khatim Jana, Sardar Bibi, Sawab Jana and others.

They told this scribe that the main objective of BISP was to extend financial help to poor segment of the society.

However, they said that majority of the beneficiaries of the scheme in the district were women of well-to-do families.

The councillors said that the survey conducted in past had been completed through political approach and elected representatives used to give the survey forms of BISP to their supporters as a political bribe.

They claimed that deserving women were neglected in the survey as they had no access to the then elected representatives.

They said that majority of the women in the district were living a miserable life and could not manage two times meal for their families.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2019