“We have already suffered a lot, now the prolonged loadshedding is making our lives even more miserable,” said a protester. Since the harsh winter season has started the local people are routinely facing unscheduled and prolonged gas cuts. Talking to The Express Tribune, Zahir Khan, an aged man among the protesters said, “The authorities concerned are deliberately bothering us because they have found us humble and weak. But now we will not sit idly anymore and we will demand our rights.”
Amjad, a resident of Malookabad area complained about low gas pressure in the area. He said at first there is prolonged gas loadshedding and then when the supply is restored, the pressure is so low that it is impossible to cook food. “The gas department is mocking us by doing this.”
A government servant, Liaqat Ali, said that the timings of the gas loadshedding are strange. It starts early in the morning, then during lunch timing, and then again during dinner time. “These days I go to work without having my breakfast and the children often get late to schools waiting for the gas supply to resume,” he added.
“We are giving the gas department only three days,” threatened a local politician, Fazal Rahman. “If they failed to solve this issue, we will resort to violent protest in front of the gas department at Saidu Sharif, and the government will be responsible for any consequences.”
When the gas department officials were contacted, they said that they were “enforcing gas load management in the area as per the schedule announced by the higher authorities.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2010.
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