Residents protest power outage
They gathered in front of the MEPCO office on Khanewal Road and blocked it for traffic
They gathered in front of the MEPCO office on Khanewal Road and blocked it for traffic. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
MULTAN:
More than two dozen residents of Farooqabad on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) following 16 hours of power outage in their neighbourhood.
They gathered in front of the MEPCO office on Khanewal Road and blocked it for traffic. They chanted slogans against the MEPCO for failing to restore electricity despite several complaints.
Muhammad Amin, one of the protesters, said, “Life has come to a standstill. It is hot, we have run out of water and cannot even use phones. There seems to be no relief.”
Muhammad Hafeez, another protester, said, “We pay our electricity bills regularly. Why are we suffering day-long load shedding? We complained about the power outage in our neighbourhood several times MEPCO officials were not concerned about it.”
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz promised to end load shedding when they were asking for our vote. They have forgotten all their promises,” said Tehmina, another protester.
The protesters also burnt tyres in front of the MEPCO office and chanted “Go Nawaz Go.”
Later, a police team negotiated with the protesters and assured them that their complaint would be addressed by the authorities.
Talking to The Express Tribune, MEPCO spokesman Jamshaid Niazi said the company was trying to maintain eight hours for load shedding.
“Since the weather turned hot, the demand for electricity rose from 1100MW to 1,200MW at day time and from 800MW to 900MW at night.”
He said power theft was also a serious issue. “The MEPCO will launch a crackdown against power theft next week,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2016.
More than two dozen residents of Farooqabad on Wednesday staged a protest demonstration against the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) following 16 hours of power outage in their neighbourhood.
They gathered in front of the MEPCO office on Khanewal Road and blocked it for traffic. They chanted slogans against the MEPCO for failing to restore electricity despite several complaints.
Muhammad Amin, one of the protesters, said, “Life has come to a standstill. It is hot, we have run out of water and cannot even use phones. There seems to be no relief.”
Muhammad Hafeez, another protester, said, “We pay our electricity bills regularly. Why are we suffering day-long load shedding? We complained about the power outage in our neighbourhood several times MEPCO officials were not concerned about it.”
“The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz promised to end load shedding when they were asking for our vote. They have forgotten all their promises,” said Tehmina, another protester.
The protesters also burnt tyres in front of the MEPCO office and chanted “Go Nawaz Go.”
Later, a police team negotiated with the protesters and assured them that their complaint would be addressed by the authorities.
Talking to The Express Tribune, MEPCO spokesman Jamshaid Niazi said the company was trying to maintain eight hours for load shedding.
“Since the weather turned hot, the demand for electricity rose from 1100MW to 1,200MW at day time and from 800MW to 900MW at night.”
He said power theft was also a serious issue. “The MEPCO will launch a crackdown against power theft next week,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 19th, 2016.