Protesters stop traffic at Korangi Road

Water and electricity shortage sparks off mob action.

KARACHI: Protesters blocked the main Korangi road at around 3 pm on Friday in an effort to voice their concern about lack of clean water and electricity in a nearby settlement.

They stopped a trawler and blocked the main road for half an hour, which resulted in a traffic jam near the KPT Exchange Bridge.

“They are throwing stones at the cars, so people are scared and they are turning their cars around,” said a rickshaw driver at the scene, after which the police was forced to step in to take control of the situation.

“They are demonstrating on the streets...regarding a lack of clean water in the neighbourhood and several hours of electricity outages, [something which has been going on] for months now,” policeman Mohammad Akram told The Express Tribune.

“We have promised them that the matter will be resolved. We will forward their complaints to the relevant authorities. No casualties have been reported as such but the traffic jam has caused a significant disturbance,” police officials went on to say.

The protesters disbursed after the police’s assurances. However, two police patrol cars continued to monitor the situation till later in the evening.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2010.