MARDAN: Residents of Baricham area here on Sunday took to the streets against the unscheduled electricity loadshedding.

The protesters, who were led by Baricham union council chairman Abdul Akbar Khan, gathered outside the press club building, blocking the busy Shamsi Road for hours.

They were chanting slogans against the provincial government and relevant officials of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company for carrying out prolonged power outages in the scorching heat.

The protesters claimed that over 15 children had been admitted to hospitals as they fainted due to power cuts amid sweltering heat. They lamented that elderly and patients suffered the most due to excessive power cuts.

The protesters warned that Pesco officials would be held responsible if anything bad happened to their children. They also vowed to continue their protests until relevant officials came to the spot and assured them of resolving the issue forthwith.

Later, assistant commissioner Aisha Tahir rushed to the spot and held talks with leaders of the protesters, assuring them that she would take up the issue of power outages with the relevant officials to find out immediate solution to the problem.

On the assurance of the assistant commissioner, the protestors dispersed peacefully.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2023