More than 300 affectees on Wednesday staged a demonstration and burnt tyres at Chowk Dera Adda while women observed sit-in on the road to block the traffic as a protest against Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) because their more than 70 cottages were reduced to ashes on Azmat Wasti Road here in the morning when a live wire of main transmission line fell on their cottages.
The affectees were beating their chests and demanding compensation for their rehabilitation because their entire belongings had burnt.
The affectees said that their animals died and daily use garments were burnt to ashes.
Eye witnesses said that women of area had gone on their work while men were in vegetable & fruit market serving as porters, while their minor children were playing in these cottages at 8 am.
All of sudden, live wire of main transmission line fell on their cottages as a result of which all the hovels were reduced to ashes within no time.
Fire brigade, however, put out the fire. Luckily, there were no human casualty.
Police said that more than 300 people of nomadic tribe had set up their 'cottage village' on a plot of National Press Trust's newspaper Daily 'Imroze' measuring 101 marlas in commercial area.
They have been living for the last two decades there.
They complained that neither any officer of city administration nor any citizen came there to console them. However, thousands of people were present there as spectators.