The people of Gujranwala held large protests on Thursday in front of the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) office at Alam Chowk against the imposition of a ‘fuel adjustment surcharge’, and threatened to torch the office if the government did not reverse the move. The protesters blocked the road for almost an hour and raised slogans against the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). On October 3, people in Gujranwala burned GEPCO offices to protest against the prolonged blackouts. Ilyas Ghuman, a protestor talking to Pakistan Today, said, “I am a salaried person and earn only Rs 8,000 every month, while the electricity bill is Rs 3,500.
Someone please tell me how I can manage bread for my children for the whole month.” He said that governments in other countries worked to minimise the problems of the masses, but in Pakistan corrupt governments keep the masses overburdened so that they could not see beyond their problems. Another protester Masood Butt said the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) and the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) were illegally receiving the fuel adjustment surcharge for last several months.
