Citizens across the country on Monday continued protesting against massive power outages, finding no respite from load shedding as they delve deeper into the holy month of Ramadan.
Despite repeated promises of resolution of the power crisis by the government, it appears nothing is being done to rid the already desperate masses of the agony of outages. The government had announced before Ramadan began that their would be no load shedding at Sehr and Iftar times at least, but just like other promises that remain unfulfilled, this one also bit the dust. People in a majority of areas have been complaining that lights went out at exactly Sehr and Iftar times, and there was also no schedule of outages during the day, making fasting in extremely humid conditions a further tall order for the devout. Per Monday’s reports, consumption of electricity had increased to 18,600Mw due to excessive use of air conditioners, while the production was no more than 13,300MW owing to the insufficient supply of fuel and gas. According to officials of the National Transmission and Despatch Company Limited (NTDC), repairs at the Muzaffargarh transmission system were in its last stages and electricity production at Lalpir thermal power plant would also be restarting soon.
Oblivious and apprehensive of the claims, citizens disregarded Islamic teachings of extreme patience while fasting and took to the roads to lodge protests against the government’s apathy. Protests were staged in several parts of the country against prolonged and unannounced load shedding, including Lahore, Peshawar, Mardan, Gujranwala, Sialkot and other major urban centers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Mandi Bahauddin demonstrators decrying load shedding torched tyres and blocked the main Sargodha-Gujrat Road.
Electricity supply has remained suspended since the last four days in Mubarakpur area of Bhawalpur, where citizens have been staging demonstrations in sizzling heat while fasting, but to no avail.
In Multan’s Purana Vehari area, the people angered by load shedding late on Sunday night burnt tyres and raised slogans to vent their anger. In Mardan, the duration of load shedding has increased to up to 22 hours a day. Locals on Monday protested against power outages by blocking the main Mardan-Gujrat Road and suspending traffic for hours. Demos were also staged in Charsadda, where citizens in Torangzai and Shabqadar area came on to roads and streets in large numbers to stage protests. A large number of people took to the roads in Bahrakahu area of the federal capital against power outages and ransacked an IESCO office and blocked the road for all kinds of traffic for several hours. In Peshawar, protesters demonstrated on the Ring Road near Achini Bala area and blocked the road for traffic. The angry mob also chanted slogans against the government and Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO). Residents of various suburban areas of Peshawar also protested against load shedding on the Motorway and blocked the road for hours. The protesters, haling from suburbs of Peshawar and Charsadda demanded an immediate end to power outages during Iftar and Sehr times. Police resorted to aerial firing after the people started damaging vehicles and chanting anti-government slogans and the Elite Force was called in for help. The protestors later dispersed after the local administration stepped in and assured them of conveying their concerns to the relevant quarters. In Khyber Agency, doctors at Headquarters Hospital Landikotal announced an indefinite strike ion protest of outages. Residents of Kohat also blocked the Pindi Road near grid station in protest.
