Protests against the ongoing issues of prolonged power outages and water shortage crippled the city once again on Saturday causing severe traffic jams in main areas including MA Jinnah Road, Mazar-e-Quaid Jinnah Ground, and Saddar near Shahabuddin Market.
During these protests, citizens, particularly the motorists, faced extreme difficulties, as protesters expressed frustration by burning tyres and shouting slogans against the relevant authorities, demanding proper supply of electricity and water. Several attempts were made to disperse the protesters who pelted stones on moving vehicles. However, the police managed to disperse the protesters and restored traffic after challenging efforts.
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A traffic police spokesperson said that residents of the MA Jinnah Road area blocked the road from Numaish Chowrangi to Capri Cinema to protest the lack of essential services on Saturday at around 4pm. Traffic police quickly responded to control the situation, diverting traffic towards Soldier Bazaar. Later, at around 6:00pm, residents near Mazar-e-Quaid Jinnah Ground at Numaish staged a similar protest, resulting severe traffic jams from People’s Chowrangi to Society Signal and Saddar Dawakhana to Lucky Star.
Residents of Saddar Shahabuddin Market Corridor 3 Road also disrupted traffic in protest at around 8pm. The traffic police redirected vehicles to alternative routes, causing extensive traffic congestion in nearby areas, including Shaharah-e-Quaideen, Numaish Chowrangi, Gurumandir, Soldier Bazar, Empress Market, Saheed-e-Millat Expressway and Sharea Faisal.
Regarding the electricity situation in the city, a spokesperson for K-Electric explained that scheduled load shedding is being carried out, whereas uninterrupted power supply depends on timely payment of electricity bills.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2023.
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