PESHAWAR: Protest demonstrations against prolonged loadshedding caused traffic gridlocks on different roads of the provincial metropolis, forcing passengers to walk towards their destinations. The problem got worsened as a few traffic wardens were seen on these roads who miserably failed to clear the mess.

Sher Shah Suri Road, Courts Road and GT Road remained blocked for at least an hour, leading to long queues of vehicles.

The Courts Road and Khyber Road were blocked due to wrong movement of vehicles near the provincial assembly building where the traffic has been diverted to a single lane owing to construction of an overhead bridge.

A lane of GT Road connecting Lady Reading Hospital road and Malik Saad flyover was also blocked from Bala-i-Hisar up to Sikandar Khan Khalil overhead bridge.

Commuters also faced problems on Sher Shah Suri Road as traffic remained blocked from cantonment railway station to Stadium Chowk where the situation was further worsened during peak hours when students and vehicles of different educational institutions came out on roads.

It was learnt that majority of traffic policemen had been assigned special duties in sensitive areas due to VIP movements, leaving a handful of policemen to handle traffic at the busy roads.

The power protesters in Bara Gate and Shaheen Colony said that supply from Arbab Landi feeder was suspended daily from 8am till 2pm without any reason. Another protest was staged by the members of the printers association of Jangi Mahlla in Qissa Khwani against the loadshedding.

They observed a sit-in on the Khyber Road after the law enforcers didn’t allow them to proceed towards the chief minister and governor houses.

“The prolonged power suspensions have paralysed our business,” said Zafar Khattak, president of the printers’ association. The protesters dispersed after Pesco officials assured them of solution to the problems.

Meanwhile, another procession was taken out by teachers of state-run schools against the government’s rationalisation policy. The demonstrators marched to the DEO office and observed a sit-in there, demanding that the government reversed the transfers of teachers made under the policy.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014