Protest: ‘Strike from Monday if loadshedding persists’

Badoki Wasaya residents seek separate feeder for ‘urban area’.

GUJRANWALA:

Protests against prolonged power outages continued in Gujranwala on the second day on Saturday.

A demonstration held in Ahmednagar Chatha was attended by local leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Shabab-i-Milli and Sunni Tehrik.

Addressing the protesters, PML-N Wazirabad president Ijaz Ahmed Paroya said protests would continue in the city on Sunday (today). He said they were also considering a shutter-down strike against prolonged hours of power outages from Monday.

Usman Ghani Cheema of the PTI, Rana Arshad of the Shabab-i-Milli and Muhammad Saleem of Sunni Tehrik were also present at the demonstration.

The protesters burned tyres at the Alipur Road and blocked the road for traffic from over two hours. The blockade ended after negotiations with a police team.

On Saturday, a sit-in in front of the office of Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) ended after the demonstrators, residents of Badoki Wasaya, were assured that their complaint would soon be redressed.

The protesters had demand that a separate feeder be installed to supply power to the area so that the number of hours of outages could be reduced to those sanctioned for urban areas. They said the current feeder was meant to supply electricity to adjacent villages, where the number of hours of outages was more than those in cities. PML-N MNA Mahmood Bashir Virk, who was leading the protesters, said if the number of hours of outages was not brought down in the area to those sanctioned for urban areas the next demonstration would be held inside the GEPCO office.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2012.