SWABI:
Hundreds of residents from Maneri, Shagai Gohati and surrounding areas blocked Swabi-Mardan Road for all kinds of traffic in a protest against power outages on Monday.
Led by social activist Shah Wali, protesters gathered at Gohati Chowk at around 10am. Addressing the demonstrators, Wali lashed out at the provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and said they were forced to come out on the roads because the government had failed to keep its promise to control power outages during Ramazan.
Shah said the government knows the timings of Sehri and Iftari but they were still witnessing load-shedding during those hours.
Residents demanded the government avoid power cuts during Sehr and Iftar, saying they would otherwise march towards Tarbela Dam and cut off the line that supplies power to other parts of the country.
They added although electricity is produced from their areas, the residents are deprived of it themselves.
After blocking the road for more than two hours, the protesters dispersed around noon.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2014.
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