PESHAWAR, April 29: Hundreds of people staged a demonstration at Chowck Yadgar on Friday to protest against shortage of drinking water.

Police said that people from different localities assembled at the congested Chowck Yadgar and blocked the road for more than one hour.

The protesters chanted slogans against Nazim Town-I and burnt tyres.

The angry residents asked the district government to activate tubewells to restore water supply in the area.

They said suspension of power supply to the tubewells had caused water shortage in certain parts of the city.

After assurance by officials of the tehsil municipal administration that water supply would be restored immediately the protesters ended the demonstration.

Residents of Zargarabad warned the city district government to restore power supply to street lights and tubewells otherwise they would launch a protest movement.

Many localities in Town-I of the provincial capital are facing drinking water shortage after Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) suspended power supply to more than 20 tubewells due to non-payment of Rs 74 million dues.

The company has warned that if the district government did not clear its dues by April 30 it would stopped power supply to more tubewells in the jurisdiction of Town-I.

Provincial minister for the local government Sardar Mohammad Idrees when approached, said that the provincial government had released Rs five million to the Town-I administration to clear power dues.

He said that the provincial government had also directed the city district government to release Rs 20 million to the town administration to meet its deficit.