National highway blocked in protest against load-shedding, low voltage

Rafiullah Mandokhail

ZHOB: Unbridled power outages on the arrival of chilly winter, hundreds of people took to the streets in protest against QESCO here on Thursday. The protesters blocked Dera Ismail Khan national highway for several hours by setting tyres ablaze and erecting blockades.

They chanted slogans against prolonged power suspension and low voltage in urban and rural areas. President Awami National Party Muhammad Anwer Mandokhail, President Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Dawood Khan Mandokhail, Chairman Awami Tehreek Fazal Amin Mandokhail, Sajid Bangash, Ajmal Awan, Haroon Mandokhail and Syed Afzal Shah condemned the unannounced load-shedding, low voltage, inflated power bills and rampant corruption in the area. They said the chilly weather coupled with prolonged power disconnection that has created numerous problems and multiplied the miseries of people manifold.

“Many localities of the city plunged into darkness, while the rural areas of the district continue suffering over 20-hour power disconnection”, they said.

They complained that either there was no electricity at all or if it came its voltage was too low to be of any use. But the government failed to overcome the problem of power suspension, adding the hue and cry of people also bore no fruit. The frequent tripping and voltage fluctuation have added to the miseries of consumers marred by outages. They complained that they had moved several complaints with QESCO authorities, but no action had been taken to rectify the situation. They asked the people to reject the elected representatives who had betrayed them and turned deaf ear to solving their problems.

The protesters warned that their line of action would be more severe and the grid station would be besieged if the duration of load-shedding was not minimized and the electricity voltage was not improved.