Heat-struck masses protest against outages

Drained by the scorching heat and continued prolonged unannounced load shedding, people across Punjab took out processions in several cities on Sunday to protests the agonizing outages.
Protests were held in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Chakwal, Sialkot, Gujranwala and many other areas, where residents remained without electricity for up to 14 hours a day, while power outages in the rural areas has reached up to 20 hours a day.
Residents in Peshawar also took to the roads with batons and staged a protest against load shedding. They blocked the road near Saifan Chowk and surrounded Sheikh Muhammadi Grid Station.
In Faisalabad, protestors turned violent against the massive power cuts, burning tyres and pelting stones on official and private vehicles.
Hundreds of factory workers in Ghulam Muhammad Abad protested against power outage and threatened to lay a siege to FESCO offices if the schedule of load shedding was not announced.
Protesters in Rawalpindi, Sanghar, Lahore and Sahiwal also took to the streets terming the unannounced load shedding a curse.
The electricity shortfall has reached 6,000MW and has led to an increase in the duration of load shedding.
PEPCO said electricity generation was 10,814MW while the demand had risen to 16,814MW.
Despite the shortfall, KESC was being continually supplied 690MW.
A spokesman for PEPCO claimed that electricity generation had decreased due to low quantity of furnace oil.
People in Lahore staged a protest demonstration against frequent power outages at Murghi Khana, Bedian Road, on Sunday.
The protesters, mostly women and children, who were carrying banners blocked the main road and chanted slogans against unscheduled load shedding. They said abrupt power suspension had damaged several of their electric appliances.
With the rise in load shedding, students taking their first-term exams have also been left at the mercy of heat and outages.
Exams in a majority of schools of twin cities have begun and students are facing difficulty in preparations due to frequent power outages.
Like other parts of the country, power outages in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have also become unbearable for people in general and students in particular.
“It is very difficult to concentrate on studies during frequent load shedding and I fear that my results will be affected if the situation continues,” Amir, a student at a Rawalpindi school, said.
“We are facing 18 hours of load shedding a day and there is no electricity to even charge the UPS,” he said.