Carrying placards, sticks and chanting slogans, dozens of people protested against long hours of power outages in Lahore on Tuesday. The protesters also attacked a WAPDA bus, damaged property and set fire to tyres which led to traffic jams in Lakshmi Chowk, Patiala Road, Township, Green Town, Mughalpura and Wahdat Road.
The protestors chanted slogans against LESCO and PEPCO for not providing electricity. Businessmen said they were forced to shut their business down while shopkeepers said they were slowly heading to total bankruptcy because of the government. “It is closed any time they feel like it,” said Amir Akbar, a protester at Township protest. He said power was closed for two to three hours and the supply was only restored for one hour. Meanwhile the power shortfall has crossed the 6,000MW level. Cities are facing 12 hours power closures while rural areas are suffering from 18 to 20 hours of power cuts. PEPCO sources said the current wave of load shedding would prevail unless finance required to pay oil and gas suppliers was released. “The company requires at least Rs 10-15 billion for paying the suppliers,” said a PEPCO senior official, adding that the situation would worsen if the money is not paid.
