April 15, 2006	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window).

QUETTA, April 14: The provincial capital remained cut off from rest of the country on Friday after farmers blocked railway tracks and highways from Karachi and Chaman.

They were protesting against power breakdown in various districts of the province.

The protestors erected heavy barricades on highways at Lakpass, Mastung, Kuchlak and other areas, affecting movement of several hundred vehicles on both sides of the roads.

The train service between Quetta and other parts of the country remained suspended throughout the day after the railway line between Kolpur and Spezand railway stations was blocked.

Railway authorities stopped all Quetta-bound passenger trains coming in from Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar at Sibi, Mach and other railway stations. Passengers, specially women and children faced great difficulties by blockage on the main railway line.

“No passenger train could leave on schedule for Karachi and other upcountry destinations from Quetta,” said railway officials, adding that the arrival and departure of all trains was delayed by several hours.

The train service was restored at around 5pm after protestors lifted their blockade after holding negotiations with Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani at the Governor’s House.

Leaders of the protestors demanded of the government to immediately restore power supply to the 20 districts of Balochistan where power supply had been suspended after the destruction of two Quetta-Sibi high-tension power transmission lines and four pylons.

They urged the government to hand over the protection of power transmission lines and other installations to them as the government has failed to protect them.

The governor told the team of the Zamindar Action Committee that the government was making every effort for early restoration of power supply.

He said that the government was also taking steps to protect vital installations, adding that strict action would be taken against saboteurs involved in attacking these installations.

Governor said that the government was ready to hold talks with anti-development elements but they should first surrender their weapons and abandon the path of violence.

He said that strikes and road-blockades were not the way to resolve any problem, adding that they always created problems for the common man.

He assured the growers that their problems would be resolved.

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)