Power to the people

All hell broke loose across Pakistan once again on Monday as stifling power outages lasting several hours at a time continued unabated, causing people to spill out onto the streets in a massive show of resentment.
What was on Sunday a mere mass of protests bordered on full-blown rebellion on Monday, as citizens weary of having to grope around in the dark – often accompanied by unusually high temperatures for this time of year, or a dengue patient – lost their cool.
ANGER BOILS OVER: Furious protests were reported from Gujranwala, where five offices of the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) were completely ransacked and set on fire. Protesters also attacked a police station and freed three dangerous inmates from lockup after the policemen inside fled to save themselves from the angry mob, which also set ablaze 15 cars and 27 motorcycles, and attacked two police checkposts in the city.
Seven police officers were badly beaten up, among them a station house officer (SHO) and a deputy superintendent of police (DSP). Protesters also torched two Rescue 1122 vehicles, Alam Chowk Grid Office and its adjacent fertiliser warehouse, injuring three rescue officials. Seven banks, a KFC restaurant and other buildings were badly damaged. Electric supply company offices also took a hit in Sheikhupura, where people pelted stones at a Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) office and later set it on fire.
They also attacked a Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) office, setting fire to parts of it and two motorcycles parked there. They also damaged several cars in the office’s parking lot. In Lahore, residents swarmed onto the streets and blocked major thoroughfares of the city, choking traffic and clashing with police. Across the entire provincial capital, power outages lasted several hours at a time, with electricity supply lasting only an hour in most areas before flickering out again.
TRUCK SET ON FIRE: Angry protesters swarmed Bhaati Chowk, Bagrian Chowk, Regal Chowk, Township, Green Town, Maulana Shaukat Ali Road and Bund Road, where they set a truck ablaze. An eight-year-old boy was killed in the mayhem, and two others were injured. Protesters set a LESCO office and a WAPDA-owned vehicle on fire on Ravi Road. Other areas saw burning tyres and traffic jams that stretched for miles.
Among the protesters on Monday were the city’s traders, who said they had suffered incredible losses because of the government’s failure to provide electricity and that their businesses were on the verge of collapsing. They warned the government to mend its ways and reduce load shedding or get ready for a “showdown”.
CAN’T BEAR LOAD SHEDDING: People in the economic hub of Karachi also came out onto the streets in frustration, chanting slogans against the government and yelling that they could no longer bear the load shedding. In Peshawar, protests broke out across the city as well, with angry mobs clashing with police and burning tyres on City Circular Road and the downtown Ganj area.
SHUTTER-DOWN STRIKE: Faisalabad saw a complete shutter-down strike as traders and citizens alike slammed the government for its failure to provide electricity. Multan, where power outages were also frequent, saw its share of angry protest demonstrations as well. Scores of people, most of them bearing canes, staged protest demonstrations against the long power outages in Sialkot too, causing massive traffic jams on the city’s main roads.
Things were no better in Rawalpindi, where protesters took to Pasarwar Road and burned tyres. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded in the resultant traffic jams, with few people able to make it to work or school. A swarm of people staged a protest demonstration in Jhelum and blocked the Islamabad-Lahore M2 Motorway near Lilla Interchange for several hours, demanding that the authorities concerned immediately issue a proper power outage schedule.