Four villages without electricity for three days

FAISALABAD: Scores of residents of villages near Jaranwala staged a demonstration against Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) on Sunday demanding an end to unscheduled power outages in their areas. They said they had been suffering a continuous power outage for three days.

The protesters gathered on Satyana Road and blocked it for traffic by parking tractor trolleys there. They shouted slogans against Fesco.

Muhammad Ali, the lumberdar of Chak 56, said several electricity poles had fallen down after a thunderstorm hit the area on Thursday. “Since then, we have been calling the Fesco office but they have not yet bothered to take any steps to provide electricity supply to our areas.”

Haji Aslam, a resident of Chak 27-GB, said Chak 27-GB, Chak 56-GB, Chak 25-GB, Chak 26-GB had not received electricity for the last three days.

“We have been facing extreme difficulty in fasting and going about our daily work without electricity. Many farmers have been unable to provide water to their animals or bathe them to beat the heat.”

The protest went on for several hours but no one from the Fesco or the government visited the scene or spoke to the protesters.

They dispersed later and said they would hold demonstrations every day till electricity in their areas was restored.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.