Unscheduled power outages: Karakoram Highway blocked

Hundreds of protesters in Havelian lit bonfires and barricaded the major artery.

ABBOTABAD:

The Karakoram Highway, which is the only road link to Gilgit-Balistan and China, was blocked for almost eight hours on Tuesday as hundreds of enraged people protested against extensive power outages.

Hundreds of protesters in Havelian lit fires and barricaded the road near Doraha Chowk with logs and stones, creating a long queue of vehicles that stretched from Kholian village in Haripur district to the Khokhar Mera police check post in Abbottabad, almost 20 kilometres away.

The protest started at around 10am and lasted past 5 in the evening, when the protesters dispersed peacefully after assurances from the police and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) officials that loadshedding will be reduced.

Sick people with doctors’ appointments in Abbottabad and Islamabad were the worst sufferers, while a majority of commuters including women and children just gave up and started walking.

Several protesters said that they were facing unscheduled power outages for the last several days, and whenever they approached the local Pesco officials, they were told that the power was being cut from the Burhan Grid Station or Islamabad.

They accused Pesco officials of wilfully suspending power supply to Havelian and surrounding areas from 1am on Tuesday till the evening, which forced them to register their protest.

Younas Khan, a protester, said that the power suspension has made life miserable for small businesses and many daily-wage earners, who cannot earn their livelihood without electricity.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2011.