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ISLAMABAD, Jan 3: The angry residents of different localities of the twin cities on Monday took to the roads disrupting the traffic for hours as a protest against the non provision of the gas in their areas causing innumerable problems particularly in cooking the food.
The residents of Shamsabad and adjoining areas staged a protest demonstration against the low pressure of gas in their locality as the commodity was in a dire need due to the cold weather.More than 150 people gathered at Benazir Bhutto Road near Shamsabad and blocked the road for an hour. The commuters had to face a lot of problem due to the blockage.
The protesters were carrying placards inscribed with slogans against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the government.
The protesters said that the government was paying no heed to solve the problems of common man. They said that the area people had been facing low pressure of gas for the last one month but the SNGPL turned a blind eye to the issue.
They said that the people were burning fire wood and coal for cooking food. They said that the tariff of gas was increasing thrice in a year but the government was not paying attention to improve the infrastructure.
In a similar protest demonstration more than 200 residents of Alipur Farash including women and children gathered at Lehtrar Road and blocked it for two hours. The protestors burnt tires and chanted slogans against the government.
While addressing the protesters, Rukhsana Qazi of All Pakistan Alliance of Katchi Abadis said that all the commercial, educational and residential establishment near Taramri Chowk were being provided uninterrupted gas supply but the SNGPL stopped the gas of Alipur, which forced the people to take to the streets for their demands.
The protesters blocked the road creating trouble for the commuters. The local police arrived to disperse the protestors but refused to budge. Later, DSP Arshad Khokhar of Shahzad Town Police arrived and assured the protestors that their grievances would be conveyed to the SNGPL officials.
Meanwhile, the enraged mob blocked the G. T. Road in Gujar Khan disrupting the traffic between Rawalpindi and Lahore for almost two hours in protest against the prolonged gas loadshedding in the area.
The protestors including women and children of Mohalla Hafizabad thronged the G.T. Road in the afternoon, chanting slogans against the PPP leadership and SNGPL management and blocked the GT Road near Barki More. The residents of other localities of the city also joined the protestors later on.
