Punjab up in arms against power cuts

Citizens across the Punjab province took to the streets on Saturday against agonisingly power outages that have badly disrupted routine life.
Citizens in all major cities including Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Sheikhupura staged protest demonstrations, demanding the government ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity.
Traders in Lahore blocked The Mall and burnt tyres and chanted slogans against the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (LESCO) for continuously depriving them of electricity. Walton Road, Bund Road and other roads also remained blocked for hours. Violent protests were also held in other parts of the city where protesters carried banners and chanted slogans against PEPCO and LESCO. The traders said load shedding had wreaked havoc with their businesses but LESCO was least bothered. The traders of The Mall gave a two-day ultimatum to the LESCO chief to end the prolonged power outages, warning that otherwise they would go on a hunger strike.
Sialkot businessmen: In Sialkot, the business community warned of initiating a civil disobedience movement against the government, just as the GT Road in Gujranwala turned into a battlefield when riot policemen resorted to brute force to disperse thousands of people protesting against long hours of unannounced load shedding in their city.
Addressing a press conference at the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), SCCI President Naeem Anwar Qureshi said traders, industrialists and exporters would observe a complete strike in the city on March 27 to protest the 20 hour-long daily power outages. Qureshi said only 150 megawatts of uninterrupted power supply was needed to save the Sialkot industry from disaster. He said daily 20-hour-long unscheduled and forced load shedding had badly affected 80 percent of the industrial production and exports in Sialkot, as foreign buyers were cancelling their orders placed with Sialkot’s exporters.
Gujranwala: There were clashes between police and protesters in Gujranwala, where desperate locals from all walks of life took to the streets condemning the unannounced load shedding. The agitated mob burnt tyres and blocked the traffic on the main artery. Within no time, heavy contingent of riot police armed with firearms and teargas-shell-launchers swooped upon the protesters. They tear-gassed the protesters and used aerial firing to disperse the crowd. Dozens of protesters were also arrested.