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Two people were killed in Lahore as protests in Punjab and Balochistan against chronic power outages entered the fourth day on Monday, just as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani woke up to the impending doom and directed the Ministry of Water and Power to end unannounced load shedding schedule within the next 24 hours.
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), traders and businessmen of Punjab have given a 48-hour ultimatum to the government to end load shedding, or brace for more violent protests.
LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said protests would continue unless and until the government addressed the burning issue. “The government would not be in a position to control the situation triggered by demonstrations by the angry industrial workers,” he said.
Sialkot’s business community also announced to come onto the roads after locking up their factories on March 27 (today) to lodge a strong protest against daily 20-hour power outages that have crippled the city’s industries.Meanwhile, submitting to public pressure, Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar announced the suspension of surcharge included in the electricity bills.
One of the two deaths on Monday occurred when the security guard of a petrol station in Lahore opened fire on an angry mob that tried to ransack the station during the protest. Per details, the demonstrators attacked the fuelling station and tried to set it on fire. A security guard on duty at the petrol pump, situated on the GT Road near Lahore University of Engineering and Technology, opened fire on the protesters in a bid to prevent them from attacking the pump. As a result, a protester was killed, spearheading a frenzied rampage by the mob.
The protesters burnt the petrol station, blocked roads and burnt tyres, chanting slogans against the federal government and PEPCO. The protesters also blocked the main GT Road and pelted stones on passing vehicles. Police later rushed to the spot and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In another incident at Shah Alam Market in Lahore, a citizen was in an elevator when electricity went out and he got stuck in it.
As soon as power was restored, he tried to get out of the elevator, but received severe injuries and died on the spot. The traders of Shah Alam Market took the dead body to the main road and protested against LESCO for power outages.
The country is facing a severe power crisis owing to a shortfall of about 6,500MW in electricity production.Citizens in almost all cities of Punjab, including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and other industrial hubs of the province, have been protesting for the last three days against the unannounced electricity load shedding.
In Faisalabad, angry protesters blocked the Samundari Road and attacked several vehicles. On the other hand, police witnessed the entire scene as silent spectators, sources added. The distraught people, protesting against the protracted hours of load shedding, took to the roads and staged a novel demonstration. They first danced to the tune of dhols (drum) on Samundari Road; but, before long, they turned aggressive and went on rampage, destroying two vehicles.
Angry youths, wielding batons, forced the closure of bazaars and then headed to the bus stop, where they unleashed their fury on two cars. The protesters said the power outages had led to a complete closure of business and rendered them unemployed. Although the prime minister has ordered the resolution of crisis, there is a grim chance of improvement, as two major dams of the country, Tarbela and Mangla, are still at the dead level and the hydel generation is far less than possible.
PEPCO sources said that power shortfall remained at more than 6,500MW. The hydel generation remained 2,300MW, while thermal generation stood at 6,100MW, thus the total production remained 8,400MW against a demand of 15,000MW. “There is a grim chance that the situation would improve, as hydel generation is very low,” said a senior official, adding that if oil and gas supplies to power houses were increased, there was chance of little respite, otherwise the situation would remain the same.

7 COMMENTS

  1. This is deliberately being done by zardari to destory punjab industry……Cospiracy against punjab….Hang zardari publicly….

    Uzair Ahmed
    London

  2. THESE PEOPLE HAVE STONES N THEIR HEADS.

    ALL THESE THINGS ARE FOR US, WE DONT HAVE TO BREAK OR DAMAGE THEM.

    A SIMPLE SOLUTION IS, VOTE FOR IMRAN KHAN.

  3. Tum sab logg miya ka naray maroo orr chuppoooo tay lesi pee ker sotay rowaoo… VOTE for IKhan

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