QUETTA: The Zamindar Action Committee (ZAC) has blamed Wapda for destroying agriculture in Balochistan through persistent, unannounced power loadshedding, which has left people in the agriculture sector unable to repay commercial bank loans, severely affecting their livelihood.

Hundreds of landlords organised protest rallies in various towns and cities, including Khuzdar, Qila Saifullah, Surab and Loralai, in response to the continuous and prolonged loadshedding. They took to the streets with placards and banners bearing anti-Wapda slogans and their demands.

In Khuzdar, landlords and growers of Jhalawan held a protest rally. The protesters marched on various roads in the district headquarter in front of the Khuzdar Press Club.

Abdul Wahab Ghulamani, Chairman of the Jhalawan ZAC, while speaking to the protesters said that Khuzdar’s economy heavily depended on agriculture, but it was badly affected by the long loadshedding and increasing electricity rates. He said that growers were financially incapable of bearing huge electricity bills.

He stated that the situation had worsened, with growers facing power outages despite making extra payments. He accused Wapda, from its officers to line staff, of benefiting from landowners’ misery.

In Surab, a large number of affected landlords gathered in front of Surab grid station and protested against the Wapda. They claimed that, despite paying their bills on time, they were deprived of electricity. Wapda had reduced the electricity supply to Surab rural feeders to less than three hours, which they considered a grave injustice against landowners.

Similar protests were also held in Loralai and Qila Saifullah, led by Malik Asmat Kadizai and Abdullah Jan Mirza, leaders of ZAC. They criticised the authorities for their mistreatment of the people and blamed Wapda for the destruction of crops due to the electricity shutdowns, leading to significant financial losses for landowners.

The ZAC announced plans to stage protests, including blocking national highways with trucks, if their demands were not met. They declared a shutter-down strike in Quetta on October 11, and a wheel-jam strike across the province on October 18.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2023