Angry mob: Protest against gas shortage

ISLAMABAD: Unannounced load shedding of gas irked hundreds of residents of Rawalpindi who came out and blocked roads in protest. Over three hundred people took to the streets and blocked traffic on IJ Principal Road for over an hour with the help of burning tyres. The angry mob chanted slogans against the government and even pelted stones at the riot-police which were deputed to check the situation.

However, no injuries were reported and the demonstrators dispersed after keeping the road closed for over an hour.

In a similar incident, more than two hundred people, mostly youngsters, blocked the Islamabad Expressway at Khanna area over the gas load shedding.

The angry protestors kept the riot police busy for over an hour and traffic remain suspended.

However, the mob dispersed peacefully and no untoward law and order situation occurred. People complained that gas was not available in their areas since days, and other times the pressure was very low.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 1^st, 2011.