Power outage: Mepco officials tied to pole, beaten up

Villagers say they have had no electricity for eight days.

KHANEWAL: Two employees of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) were tied to an electricity pole and later beaten up by charged villagers during a protest against eight day electricity suspension.

Mepco linemen Manzoor and driver Afzal were caught by villagers during a visit to the area on Sunday. The villagers tied them up with an electricity pole and only let them leave after a severe beating.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the two employees said they were helpless in the situation. “We have no authority to supply electricity.

These decisions are taken by high officials. We only follow orders of our senior officers,” they said.

Dozens of residents of 12RH village later staged a demonstration, burning tyres and chanting slogans against the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Mepco for power outage.

They said there had been no electricity in their village for eight days. They said rural areas were being discriminated against in duration of power outages. “Electricity in Multan is never suspended for more than a few hours and here in villages we have to spend days without electricity,” one of the protestors said.

Residents of Zafarabad Colony in Rahim Yar Khan also staged a protest against a four-day power breakdown. The protesters burnt tyres on near Baba Ghareeb Shah bridge and shouted slogans against MEPCO.

They said there had been no electricity in their houses during Eid holidays because the electricity transformer had broken down. “There is only one power transformer for more than 5,000 houses in the area,” they said. They demanded the Mepco to replace the faulty transformer.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th,  2011.