Power cuts: Traders, residents take to the streets
Power cuts: Traders, residents take to the streets
MUZAFFARABAD:
Traders and civil society members in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) staged a protest in the capital city over the weekend against what they termed unannounced power cuts in the area. Traders’ Joint Action Committee President Razaq Khan said around 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity was being produced from AJK but the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had failed to provide the minimum 300MW to local residents who sacrificed their graveyards to construct the Mangla Dam. He said that 10 to 12 hours’ of load-shedding had adversely affected businesses and daily activities. The protesters gave January 9 as a deadline to Wapda to solve the issue otherwise they said they will be compelled to take extreme steps to get their rights. Later, the traders also set up a protest camp outside the Central Press Club, which was visited by leaders of various political parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is the opposition party in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.
Traders and civil society members in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) staged a protest in the capital city over the weekend against what they termed unannounced power cuts in the area. Traders’ Joint Action Committee President Razaq Khan said around 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electricity was being produced from AJK but the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had failed to provide the minimum 300MW to local residents who sacrificed their graveyards to construct the Mangla Dam. He said that 10 to 12 hours’ of load-shedding had adversely affected businesses and daily activities. The protesters gave January 9 as a deadline to Wapda to solve the issue otherwise they said they will be compelled to take extreme steps to get their rights. Later, the traders also set up a protest camp outside the Central Press Club, which was visited by leaders of various political parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is the opposition party in the AJK Legislative Assembly.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2015.