Representational image. PHOTO: AFP
A protest rally marched through various streets and culminated at Allahwalla roundabout on Monday. The participants staged a sit-in at the roundabout. They held placards and shouted slogans against Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) for its failure to put a small town with a population of 80,000 on a single feeder.
Protesters claimed feeder-2 had been made zero-load shedding and feeder-1 was facing eight-hour long outage daily which was discrimination.
They said all residents were paying their monthly bills regularly but Sepco was carrying out prolonged closure of electricity on one part of town plunging it into darkness after sunset.
They maintained 14 days had passed but no elected representative had taken notice of the issues faced by citizens as yet. The protesters said they were being threatened by police to call off their protest or cases would be registered against them.
However, they said, they would not call off protest till their demands are accepted.
They said they would offer Eidul Fitr prayers at their camp established for the past two weeks in front of Sepco office if their demands are not accepted. They called for an immediate solution to the power outages being faced by residents.
Cattle theft, lawlessness
Meanwhile, the residents of 10 villages blocked the Larkana Sukkur highway for four hours on Monday. They were protesting increased incidents of cattle theft and lawlessness in their villages. The protesters burnt tyres, shouted slogans against police's failure to recover stolen buffaloes and arrest thieves.
The affected areas from where the villagers had come on tractor trolleys included, Allahando Jeho, Gulan Jeho, Jamar Jeho, Salah Jeho, Shambh Jeho and Jat-Bhutta among others.
The closure of the main highway caused traffic from Sukkur and Larkana to come to a standstill. Long queues of vehicles were seen on both sides of the road as the highway remained blocked.
Speaking to the media, the villagers said that two buffaloes were stolen from Gulan Jeho and Allahando Jeho each a few days ago but they haven't been recovered by Naundero police.
They claimed they had given the names of the thieves in writing to Naudero SHO Fida Langah but he had done nothing so far.
The villagers claimed Langah and his officers were providing protection to criminals.
The protesters maintained that the incidents of thefts had made their lives miserable. They questioned that if everything was to be done by them then what was the police doing and why was the taxpayer's money wasted on them.
The villagers said the SHO was pressurising them to talk with the thieves which the protesters had refused.
The protesters demanded the recovery of stolen buffaloes and arrest of all the thieves in the area.
After four hours of the protest, DSP Yousuf Brohi talked with the protesters and assured them that the stolen buffaloes would be recovered within five days after which the villagers called of their protest.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2019.
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