People across the country continued to vent their anger at the government over prolonged and unannounced load shedding for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, with protesters in Gujranwala turning violent after police used force to disperse them. A complete shutter-down strike was observed in Gujranwala on a call given by the Anjuman-e-Tajir Ittehad.
A huge protest rally under the banner of the Anjuman-e-Tajir Ittehad gained momentum due to the influx of protesters from across the city and culminated in the siege of the GEPCO chief’s office, where angry demonstrators clashed with hapless policemen trying to contain them. Police used tear gas to disperse them, but it still took three hours to bring the situation under control, as the protesters did not shy away from hurling stones and sticks at the police.
The mob then moved to Loewanwala by-pass where it clashed with police again. All leading markets in the city remained closed, with demonstrations staged in Cheherwali, People’s Colony, Gill Road, Alam Chowk, Baghbanpura and Sheranwala Bagh. However, police did not allow protesters to get on the GT Road and damage any public or private property. Trains passed through the city with armed policemen on board.
GEPCO said its losses could exceed Rs 8 million, as its head office and 11 sub-offices had been set ablaze during the riots, while two fire-fighting vehicles of Rescue 1122 would cost the service around Rs 10 million. Police have lodged FIRs at various stations against more than 2,000 protesters and arrested dozens for rioting and arson. Lawyers also boycotted court proceedings and staged a rally to record their protest.
Meanwhile, the situation in Lahore improved considerably on Tuesday, where continuous electricity was supplied to a majority of the areas. However, sporadic protest demonstrations were still reported in parts of the city, with protesters blocking roads with burning tyres and damaging passing cars near WAPDA Town. Several parts of the city including Johar Town, Township, Model Town, Garden Town, Muslim Town, Iqbal Town and Wahdat Road received power supply continuously from morning to evening, while areas like Mughalpura, Shalimar, Baghbanpura, Samanabad, Chowk Yateem Khana, Chauburji and Ravi Road witnessed fewer outages.
Surprised citizens could hardly believe their luck, but urged the government to take the problem seriously and find a permanent solution to it. PEPCO reportedly reduced power supply to the KESC to overcome the crisis in Punjab, while oil supplies to HUBCO and KAPCO also improved the situation.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry also released Rs 11 billion to the Petroleum Ministry which resulted in an increase of 3000MW electricity in the national grid that contributed in reducing load shedding. According to PEPCO, the power shortfall on Monday remained at 6,149MW, with the generation recorded at 11,053MW and demand at 17,202MW. Sources in PEPCO said power production had improved on Tuesday at more than 13,000MW, while the shortfall had come down to 4,000MW.
In the country’s north, workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf and locals held a protest against the prolonged power outages and gave the government 24 hours to end unscheduled load shedding. They blocked the Karak-Sabirabad Road for more than two hours.
PML-N CONTACTS PML-Q, MQM: Meanwhile, Online reported that the PML-N has approached PML-Q and MQM to hold anti-government protests over prolonged electricity load shedding and soaring prices. PML-N Information Secretary Mushahidullah told reporters his party has contacted the MQM and PML-Q to run an anti-government campaign. In a related development, PM Gilani called on President Zardari late and briefed him on the steps being taken to resolve the energy crisis.