Winter woes: Housewives protest gas load shedding

Momina Khalid, a protester, said, “We have resorted to cooking food using firewood.

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

Scores of women from across Rahim Yar Khan protested against unscheduled load shedding on Sunday.

The protesters, mostly residents of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Azizabad, Jinnah Park and Officers Colony, gathered in front of Sui Norther Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) offices and blocked Khanpur Road by burning old tyres. Traffic was suspended on Khanpur Road for several hours. The protesters carried cooking utensils and were carrying placards. They chanted slogans against the government, the district administration and the SNGPL for ignoring thousands of complaints against gas load shedding. “There is no electricity, no gas, nothing,” said Shaista Bibi. “I will not be surprised if tomorrow they say there is no water to drink.” She said there had been no gas supply at her house for over a week. “Every time families adjust to the gas load shedding schedules, it gets worse,” she said.

She urged the chief minister to take notice of the situation. Momina Khalid, another protester, said, “We have resorted to cooking food using firewood. Every winter, our problems are exacerbated. Soon we will run out of firewood too.”

An SNGPL team later met the protesters and told them that gas pipes in their areas were old and low capacity. They told them that a request had been sent for funds to replace gas pipes in the area. The SNGPL team assured them that their problem would be resolved soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2015.