PESHAWAR: City police here on Thursday baton-charged demonstrators who blocked the Grand Trunk Road at Hashtnagri to protest against the unannounced power outages.

The protesters belonging to Kachi Mohallah took to streets in protest against what they called prolonged power outages. The protesters, majority of whom were youth, blocked the GT Road for more than an hour and burnt tyres.

The closure of main thoroughfare caused great hassle for the motorists who had to wait in suffocating heat for more than an hour. The protesters alleged that the power outages’ duration had increased after the start of Muharram and demanded of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company to ensure uninterrupted power supply.

A large contingent of police arrived at the scene later and the protesters dispersed after the baton charge. An official of the Hashtnagri police station told Dawn that neither any case was registered against the protesters nor there were any arrests.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2021