Protest against power company in Mansehra

Karakoram Highway blocked for an hour; lineman beaten up.

MANSEHRA:

Several people took to the streets to protest the suspension of power supply to Mansehra in the Lari Adda (Lorry Stop) area on Friday and also blocked the Karakoram Highway for about an hour. Some of the protesters also beat up a Pesco lineman who was having lunch at a local hotel during the protest.

Traders and transporters also joined the protest. However, following the intervention of police and Pesco officials, the protesters dispersed and opened the road for traffic.

Shanawaz Khan of Lari Adda said that Pesco authorities have removed the fully-functional power transformer from Lari Adda area without any reason and installed it at some other area suspending the power supply to several localities.

He said that he and several consumers approached the Pesco authorities, who failed to justify the removal of transformer, and asked them to restore power within a couple of days.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2011.