Dozens of women covered in shuttlecock burqas in Talash Lower Dir staged a protest against low voltage and long hours unscheduled power outages. Later, hundreds of men from the area also gathered on the spot to protest the electricity load shedding.
The protesters blocked Peshawar-Timergara road for more than five hours starting from 10:00 am up to 3:30 pm in front of the Talash police station in scorching heat. After the long blockade when no one from the concerned officials came for negotiation, the charged protesters pelted stones on police station Talash damaging vehicles stolen-and-recovered by police which were parked inside police station, said official sources.
District Police Officer (DPO) Lower Dir Arif Shahbaz Khan, Assistant Commissioner Adenzai Tariq Khan, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Headquarters Timergara Fakhr-i-Alam and officials from Dir Task Force (DTF) and Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (PESCO) rushed to the spot and held negotiations with the protesters.
The officials assured the protesters that their grievances would be addressed at the earliest after which they agreed to open the road for general traffic.
Political experts in Lower Dir were of the opinion that heavy load shedding and electricity-by-turn in Jandool area of Lower Dir was an important factor that helped PTI MNA elect Muhammad Bashir Khan defeated Jamaat-e-Islami central chief and MMA candidate Senator Sirajul Haq in his native Jandool area during the recent general elections.
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