RAWALPINDI: The city saw traffic gridlocks on Monday afternoon when residents of different areas took to streets against low gas pressure in their houses.

The protest demonstrations were held at Jhanda Chichi on Airport Road and Jhelum Road in front of Ayub Park.

More than 150 people from Morgah, Gulistan Colony and the adjoining areas gathered in front of the main gate of Ayub National Park and blocked the road from 12:30pm to 1:30pm.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL).

“We are facing the low pressure of gas despite the closure of CNG stations for four months,” said Khurram Karim, a resident of Morgah.

He said complaints registered with the SNGPL had gone unheeded.

In another protest at Jhanda Chichi near Chaklala Scheme-III, over 300 people blocked the main road from the district courts to the Benazir Bhutto International Airport for more than two hours.

The protests were staged at a time when schoolchildren were returning homes. Due to the closure of the busy arteries, traffic jams were also witnessed in other areas.

The police failed to convince the people to disperse after recording their protest. The local administration and police office are located a few yards away from the protesters but nobody took notice of them.

However, PTI local leader Malik Adnan and others arrived at the spots and persuaded the protesters to disperse.

Sajid Khan, a resident of Jhanda Chichi, said they had been facing low pressure of natural gas with the start of winter. “We are forced to use coal and firewood to cook meal but still pay the bills.”

On the other hand, school wagons which brought children back home at around 2:30pm were late by about two hours. It worried the parents and some of whom rushed to the schools to pick them up.

“The driver of a private school wagon informed me to make arrangements to pick my children from schools on my own,” said Ms Naseem Ahmed, a resident of Chakala Scheme-III.

Published in Dawn December 16th , 2014