Dozens of people on Sunday participated in a mock funeral for the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and later buried an effigy in Dera Ghazi Khan in protest against unscheduled power outages.
Earlier, the participants, most of them belonging to Seraikistan National Movement, burned the effigy and organised a funeral procession before burying it near National Highway. They also staged a sit-in at the highway blocking traffic for an hour. “We have burned ‘the Wapda’ and with it abandoned all hopes that the organisation will ever rid us of the long hours of power outages,” said SNM leader Asghar Shaheen, reciting mock prayers after the ‘burial’.
He said DG Khan and its adjoining areas were facing outages for up to 20 hours a day. “Wapda officials tell us they are helpless. What is the use of the organisation then? It Let it rest in peace instead of consuming national resources for doing nothing in return,” he said.
Other protestors said outages were not an immediate concern any longer just because they could not switch on fans or lights in their houses.
Their crops had been damaged due to shortage of water because there had been no electricity to run tube wells. “We are dependent upon agriculture to feed our families. A bad crop leaves us no options but to take loans from big landowners or die from starvation,” they said. Protestors said they had not yet cleared past debts. “There is no hope of better times for us until we can’t break free of this debt cycle,” they said.
Following the burial, some protestors shouted slogans against the Wapda and performed traditional Jhoomer dance ‘to celebrate the occasion’.
They said the dance was traditionally performed on festivals and weddings. “We’re celebrating because with ‘Wapda’ dead we are liberated from looking forward to the one or two hours electricity that we get every day,” they said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 25th, 2011.
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