Residents of Rashidabad block the street while protesting on Charsadda road. PHOTO: PPI
Thousands across the province took to the streets on Tuesday in a violent show of anger against prolonged hours of unscheduled load-shedding.
In Mardan, nearly 3,000 people besieged the Katlang grid station, smashing windows and doors and even managing to pull out the main gate from its hinges.
Protesters said they were facing 20 hours of power outages despite repeated appeals made to the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
The protesters, who came from Kohi Barmol, Ghazi Baba, Jamal Garhi and Katlang villages, convened on Buner-Katlang Road. The demonstration was led by Islahi Committee President Nazir Bacha, former nazim Umer Nawab, and elders Riaz Ahmad and Haji Rahman Gul.
Nazir Bacha told The Express Tribune they had come to protest peacefully and to talk to Wapda Sub-divisional officer (SDO) Ajmal Khan about the power outages. However, when they reached the grid station, the SDO called in the police and escaped in a police van, he claimed.
Bacha said the demonstration then turned violent and protesters started pelting stones at the van and the grid station in protest. “After that no one could control the mob,” he said, adding they told the police they would only talk to the SDO.
Consequently, the protesters broke into the grid station, destroyed furniture and tore down the main gate.
DSP Niaz Khan, who was deployed at the station, said they tried to calm the mob but the protesters tried to have a go at the SDO after which they shifted Ajmal Khan to a safe location.
Niaz said they were finally able to control the situation after three hours of violent protests, and arranged a meeting of the elders with Wapda officials.
In the meeting, elders demanded an immediate end to the power cuts and threatened to attack the grid station again if their grievances were not addressed. “This time we will destroy the station completely,” one of the elders was quoted as saying.
In turn, officials assured the elders they would resolve the problem soon, and will chalk out a plan to provide uninterrupted electricity to the areas from an alternate link.
Meanwhile, hundreds of residents from the provincial capital and adjacent areas also came out on the roads to protest against load-shedding.
The biggest demonstration was held on Kohat Road where residents of Hazarkhuwani, Badhaber and adjoining areas blocked the Indus Highway.
Protesters burnt tyres and shouted slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), claiming they were suffering up to 22 hours of load-shedding in their areas. The demonstration started at 7am and ended around noon after Indus Highway police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the crowd and clear the road for traffic.
Elsewhere, residents of Faqirabad, Warsak Road, Yakatoot, Gulberg, Khan Mast Colony and Rashidabad staged a demonstration and blocked Ring Road, Charsadda Road and Dalazak Road, making commuters wait under the scorching sun for hours.
“Even when electricity is restored after 16 hours, the voltage is so low we cannot turn on water pumps or air conditioners,” complained one of the protesters.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2013.
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