The residents of Nowshera Kalan along with their elected representatives on Thursday protested against excessive unscheduled electricity load shedding and blocked main road for all kind of vehicular traffic for hours.
The protesters led by Awami National Party district president and district councillor Malik Juma, tehsil member Maulana Imran Haqqani, and union councils Nazimeen Ali Khan, Janas Khan, Ziaullah, and Nilofar, Anwarzeb, Kamran, while from Khweshgi Nazim Inamullah Khatak, Zahoor, Riaz and Fazl Gul were holding placards inscribed with slogans against the federal government and Wapda authorities for excessive load-shedding.
Amid chanting slogans against the government, the infuriated protestors were waving sticks in their hands and blocked all kind of vehicular traffic. Due to road block, long queues of vehicles were seen on Mardan-Nowshera and Nowshera-Peshawar roads for almost five hours, owing to which commuters and transporters were being confronted with immense difficulties in the hot weather. Many of the women passengers and their children got unconscious due to heating weather were shifted to nearby hospital for medical aid.
The protesting residents resented that Pesco management carrying-out excessive power outage from 14 to 18 hours a day which they termed injustice with consumers in this sizzling weather. They lamented that hours long load-shedding turned their lives miserable, as people were being faced with acute shortage of drinking water at their homes. Besides, the faithful also have shortage of water at mosques on this holy month of Ramazan, they added.
The protesting local representatives of Nowshera Kalan and Khweshgi areas said that though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did announce to carry zero load-shedding during Sehr, Iftar and Taraveh timings, but it proved a jock with the consumers, they added. They also alleged that Wapda authorities putting extra burden upon the consumers aimed to hide their corruptions, which they termed unjustified.
Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Nowshera Abdul Hameed, DSP Adnan Khan and Wapda officials assured to resolve their problem on priority basis, upon which the protesters peacefully dispersed.