Police deployed in front of the Gepco office to stop protesters from attacking. PHOTO: KHURRAM SHEHZAD/EXPRESS
They were protesting against long hours of outages in the city. Some areas of the city have been facing 18-hour outages a day.
The protesters, most of them residents of Manthar, were carrying clubs. Some of them threw bricks to damage doors, windows, furniture and flower pots.
Mian Imtiaz, a candidate from NA-196 and Chaudhry Muhammad Shafiq, a member of the Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were visiting the office when the protesters attacked it. The protesters stopped and later dispersed when Imtiaz and Shafiq assured them that they would meet Multan Power and Electric Company officials to end the problem.
Sub Engineer Muhammad Dilshaad told The Express Tribune that the police were informed, but did not reach the scene. A police official said that this may have happened because a farewell party for former District Police Officer Sohail Zafar Chattha was going on at the time.
Dilshad said the guard deployed at the Complex, too, did not act. He said he later visited the A-Division police station and filed a complaint against the rioters.
He said senior officials in Multan were also informed about the incident and the damage to the property.
Station House Officer Jamshed Ali Shah told The Express Tribune that the police guards at the Complex had helped Mepco workers stop the protesters. He said the police were investigating the matter.
Gepco office surrounded
In Gujranwala, some 200 protesters surrounded the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) to register their protest against unscheduled loadshedding. They blocked the GT Road with burning tyres.
The protesters alleged that Gepco officials had been paid a Rs30m bribe by State no 2 to provide 21 hours uninterrupted power a day.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2013.
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Another feather in the hats of our corrupt provincial governments and their politically appointed inept officials of public offices.