Worst power outages on first day of Ramazan

SWABI: Several people, including three policemen, sustained injuries when scores of protesters from the Chota Lahor Tehsil in Swabi district took to the streets to protest unannounced power loadshedding on the first day of Ramazan.
Braving the sweltering heat, the protesters also blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway for traffic.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed annoyance over the complaints of loadshedding during ‘Iftar’ and ‘Sehr’ and sought an immediate response from the Ministry of Water and Power. He asked the ministry to take immediate steps to redress these complaints. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Water and Power appealed to power consumers to observe electricity conservation during ‘Iftar’, ‘Taraveeh’ and ‘Sehri’ timings in order to provide uninterrupted power supply to the maximum areas. A press release issued said the ministry was exploring all avenues for optimal load management to keep the ‘Iftar’, ‘Taraveeh’ and ‘Sehri’ loadshedding-free.
The Ministry of Water and Power also chalked out a plan to minimise the overall impact by distributing the load across the country.Earlier, an angry mob set on fire the sub-division office of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and office of the district and sessions judge, torching the official record and furniture.
Announcements were made on loudspeakers urging the people to come out of their homes to join the protest. Led by the newly-elected councilors, the protesters demanded an end to the hours-long power outages.
The protesters marched to the Pesco sub-division office and set all the documents, computers, meters, electricity transformers and all other valuables on fire. Pesco employees said the protesters had destroyed the official record and computers.
The protesters also entered the premises of Chota Lahor Tehsil building and set on fire offices, motorcycles and official record. They also damaged a fire-brigade vehicle.Later, the protesters marched to the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway and blocked it for traffic near the Swabi Interchange. They also chanted slogans against Pesco and federal and provincial governments.
Later, Deputy Commissioner Matiullah Khan, District Police Officer Sajjad Khan and Chota Lahor administration held talks with the representatives of protesters.It was learnt that six people were arrested and a first information report was registered against the protesters at the Chota Lahor Police Station.
Meanwhile, Pesco Chief Executive Syed Hassan Fazil rushed to Charsadda and Swabi to personally investigate the situation. He issued special instructions in this regard.Syed Hassan Fazil said taking the law into one’s hand was not the solution to the problem. He said an end to the illegal use of electricity would solve the overloading problem. He also asked the provincial government and all other relevant departments to protect the Pesco staff and installations.
Meanwhile, frustrated by hours-long unannounced power loadshedding, hundreds of people took to the streets and blocked roads in the Katlang Tehsil and chanted slogans against the officials of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco).
The residents of several villages including Katlang, Ghundo, Dherai, Matta, Shamozai, Babozai, Mian Khan and Sangahu complained that they had been facing 16-18 hours long loadshedding even though the federal government had announced there would be no loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar.
The protesting villagers said they approached local Pesco officials in Katlang sub-office about the loadshedding but they told them that they had been directed to carry out power outages.A protester, Basit Khan, said the Pesco made life miserable for them by suspending power for many hours in the scorching summer.
“They suspend power supply for two and three hours and then restore it for an hour only. Today power supply was suspended from 12 noon and was restored at 5:00pm. Are we not Pakistanis?” he asked.He said there was no water in mosques and houses due to the power outages in their villages.
The protesting people blocked the main Katlang-Mardan Road and Katlang-Buner Road for hours as a mark of protest against the Pesco authorities.Pesco Spokesman Shaukat Afzal said there were two feeders, Katlang New and Katlang Old. He added there were 33 percent losses on the Katlang new feeder, where four hours of loadshedding was being carried out.
He said the Katlang Old feeder was facing 44 percent losses and they had started eight hours of loadshedding.Meanwhile, residents of various parts of the district staged rallies against the unannounced and prolonged power outages, particularly during Sehr, Iftar and Taraveeh, and asked the government to implement the orders about power management a day earlier.
The residents of Nowshera Kalan, Cantonment, Armor Colony, Risalpur Cantonment and other areas took to the streets and chanted slogans against the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) for making excessive power cuts in the district. The speakers said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had announced that there would be no loadshedding during Sehr and Iftar.
They said that instead of implementing the prime minister’s orders, Pesco had doubled the duration of power cuts. The protesters warned Pesco to mend its ways or they would besiege and lock down the installations of the entity in the district.
Earlier, enraged residents protested against the unannounced electricity loadshedding in the Upper Dir district.Local leaders and activists of various political parties also joined the protesters. After Friday prayers, the protesters took to the streets in Darora area and blocked the main Dir-Peshawar Road for almost two hours.
Addressing the rally, Noor Muhammad of PTI, Maulana Sardar Ahmad, newly-elected district councilor of the JI from Darora, Hayat Gul of PPP and others said Pesco was indifferent towards the people of Upper Dir. They said there was a set schedule for loadshedding in other areas but there was no schedule for the Upper Dir.
The protesters also complained about the low voltage and said the grid stations authorities, especially the Chukiatan grid station staff, reduced voltage in the month of Ramazan, which badly affected routine life in the area. They warned of observing a shutdown and wheel-jam strike in the district if Wapda authorities did not solve the low voltage and unscheduled loadshedding problems by June 22.
Online adds: Major cities in the country plunged into darkness due to loadshedding on the first day of Ramazan despite the prime minister’s orders for no loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar in the holy month.
Although, Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif said there would be no loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar hours, major areas of Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore and others cities witnessed loadshedding during the first Sehri of Ramazan.
Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Federal B Area, Sakhi Hasan, Shah Faisal Colony, Jail Road and Malir were the most affected areas in Karachi.The cities which faced power outages included Charsadda, Multan, Lower Dir, Hafizabad, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Sukkur, Larkana and some other cities.
The people came out on the roads in different parts of the country in protest against the power outages in the sweltering summer heat.Among the places where the protests took place were Multan, Hafizabad, and Hyderabad.