GHALANAI: Tribesmen from different areas of Haleemzai tehsil on Tuesday staged a demonstration and blocked the main Peshawar Bajaur Road here against the prolonged power outages and low voltage.

Led by PTI Mohmand Agency president Sajid Khan Mohmand and PTI youth leader Sajjad Khan, the protesters warned the Ghalanai grid station would be stormed if power outages didn’t end in a week.

Shouting slogans against Wapda, they marched from Ghalanai Bazaar to the Mohmand Press Club.

Mr. Sajid claimed the electric supply remained suspended in the area for almost all through the day.

He criticised local MNA Malik Bilal Rehman over failure to ensure corrective measures.

The PTI leader claimed the lawmaker was threatening PTI workers against participating in the anti-loadshedding protests. “If anything wrong happens to our workers, we’ll retaliate,” he said. Mr. Sajid said the MNA had ‘stocked’ from 40 to 50 power transformers for distribution among voters ahead of the general elections.

He said women and children suffered the most due to the excessive power cuts in the chilly weather.

The PTI leader complained the loadshedding had caused shortage of drinking water in the area. Another speaker said the electric supply remained suspended for more than 23 hours. “This is simply intolerable,” he said.

The protesters complained that on the other hand, electricity was smoothly supplied to steel factories but on the other, the people were subjected to excessive power cuts.

They also said voltage was also low in their areas damaging electric appliances.

The protesters warned if power outages won’t end in a week, tribesmen from across Mohmand Agency would storm the Ghalanai grid station.

Officials of the local administration later met protesters and persuaded them to disperse peacefully by promising early corrective measures.

Published in Dawn February 1st, 2017