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• As containers block off Rawalpindi’s citizen’s access to federal capital, food shortage begins to hit Rawalpindi citizens
• Citizens criticise politicians for playing power games

Citizens of Rawalpindi are suffering the most from Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT)’s and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s ‘Inqilabi’ and ‘Azadi’ marches as the city is cut off from the federal capital and Khyber Pakhtukhwa and the citizens are facing shortage of supplies.

The citizens have reportedly said that the politicians are only fighting to grab power and plunder the country and are least concerned about the masses.

STARVATION ALERT:

A round of the city on Friday reportedly showed that there is extreme shortage of vegetables and wheat flour, sugar and pulses have gone short on retail shops due to suspension of supply from other cities.

Several retailers of grocery shops said that IJ Principal Road has been completely blocked by the police with placement of containers and they cannot reach and bring fruits, vegetables and other items from Islamabad’s vegetable market.

Due to dwindling stocks, shopkeepers have increased the rates of almost all commodities.

Rawalpindi citizens expressed fears that if this situation continued for another couple of days, people including children would start dying due to starvation.

Consumers have strongly criticised the administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for making their lives difficult. They said they have been made hostage in Rawalpindi while the two parties are taking their marches to Islamabad.

People who daily commute between the twin cities are also suffering immensely. They cannot travel to their places of work and return home as the main road that runs between the twin cities is cut off with containers. Though there were reports that police has been asked to remove the containers but practically nothing has been done and the blockade is reportedly still in place.

DAILY WAGERS PERTURBED:

Some of the daily wagers, who in the morning gather at different points in the city, said that they are not getting any labour job for the last one week and they are just managing one time meal as they have no money.

Many of them said that their families in KP and parts of Punjab expect them to send money every week but they are not able to do so. In addition, after the reopening of educational institutions, they are required to pay fees of their children and meet other needs which they are not being able to do so.

The highly perturbed and enraged labourers questioned the politicians as to why they are making the lives of the ordinary people more difficult.