Violent protests against extraordinary power outages continued in the city for a second day on Monday, while some 200 people were sent to jail for damaging government property.
The major unrest was at Malipura in Shafiqabad, where hundreds of protestors gathered in the evening and placed burning tyres to block traffic on Bund Road. They also set fire to the Lahore Electricity Supply Company office on Ravi Road, a Solid Waste Management truck and a Water and Power Development Authority car, and damaged private cars parked nearby.
The police quickly arrived at the scene and tried to disperse the protestors with force, but this angered the protestors further and they responded by throwing stones at the police. Senior officials then spoke with some of the protestors and the violence receded, but a milder protest was still continuing on Monday night when this report was filed.
Meanwhile, GT Road was blocked at Mian Channu, Muridke and Behra by protests.
A smaller protest was also witnessed in the Walled City, with Circular Road blocked for two hours near Sheranwala Gate. Many protestors also gathered near Jinnah Hospital on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road and chanted slogans against the government.
Muhammad Naeem, a second-year FA student, said that life without electricity was “miserable”. He said that the authorities may not be able to improve the electricity supply, but they could at least make a load-shedding schedule so people could plan for the outages. “We have had only a few minutes of electricity here and there over the last four days,” he said. “Both the federal and provincial governments have failed. They should resign.”
Police said that they arrested 68 protestors from Baghbanpura, 54 from Chuhng, 42 from Chauburji and Sham Nagar and 35 from Islampura and registered cases against them under Sections 436, 427, 148, 149, 506 and 156 of the Pakistan Penal Code for disturbing public order and damaging state property.
Anti-Terrorism Court Judge Tahir Pervaiz later remanded them in judicial custody, though the police had sought their physical custody.
Traders and politicians
Hamza Shahbaz, son of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, led a peaceful march from Lohari Gate that was joined by traders from Abid Market and Hall Road. Many PML-Nawaz activists took part in the rally.
Shahbaz said that the march was a protest against the federal government for its inability to overcome the power shortage. He said that the Centre was being “unfair” to citizens also facing a public health crisis in the form of dengue. He said that the PML-N supported all peaceful protests against load shedding.
The protests disrupted traffic all over the city, despite the diversion plans prepared by traffic police. Traffic on Canal Bank Road was jammed for several hours.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2011.
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not bad for people if jails have 24*7 electricity supply.
is govt sure that shortfall is only of 4-5000 mw because in such case( 5000 out of 20000 mw is 25%) only one fourth of nation or 6 hours of electricity cuts for every one should have been there. i think the deficit is much more than the installed capacity.