SWABI, Aug 19: Residents of many Marghuz areas damaged power transmission line and pulled down electricity polls while protesting prolonged loadshedding on Eid day on Sunday.

They said power remained suspended for around 20 hours marring their Eid celebrations and therefore, they had stepped out to protest prolonged power outages.

Protesters belonging to Gar, Dok Yousafi, Musa Banda, Rana Dher, Dodher and Tandkohi areas staged a demonstration on Zaida-Topi Road, created hurdles and blocked traffic.

It was not an organised protest but suddenly people began pouring in from all sides shouting slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply (Pesco) and local Awami National Party MNA Pervez Khan, who belongs to Tandkohi village.

They said the elected representatives didn’t take interest in solution of their problems and just focused their attention on accumulating wealth.

They warned that they would not leave the road until Pesco ended unscheduled loadshedding.

They alleged that power supply to many localities of Marghuz remained unsuspended and Pesco had intentionally deprived them of the facility.

According to them, despite repeated requests and appeals, Pesco staff was not ready to attend to their complaints.

“The people were in fury and at the initial stage the officers did not want to reach to the trouble spot and they intentionally delayed their arrival in a hopes that the enraged mob would be cooled down and after that they would hold negotiations with them,” said a Pesco official.

Later, police and Pesco officers held talks with them and after three hours march on Zaida-Topi Road, they returned home hoping that they would have the power supply on Eid day but their dreams were shattered by the Pesco staff.

As the situation did not improve, people once gain turned angry. As result people of Marghuz attacked the transmission lines of the area and they pulled down two electricity polls and break the wire of the transmission into pieces.

This led to the complete power supply to many regions and the protesting people alleged that the Pesco staff was responsible for the untoward incidents. They said let them to supply the power they would not protest.

They declared that they were no need of the dead transmission line because the power supply frequently remained stopped and they hope that the electricity supply would be resumed very soon.

It has been learnt that the Pesco staff will get power protesters booked after Eid. —Correspondent