Protest in Skardu over power cuts, wheat shortage

Published December 6, 2022
PEOPLE stage a sit-in at Hussaini Chowk in Skardu on Monday against the prevailing power crisis and wheat shortage.—Photo by the writer
PEOPLE stage a sit-in at Hussaini Chowk in Skardu on Monday against the prevailing power crisis and wheat shortage.—Photo by the writer

GILGIT: People took to the streets in Skardu on Monday to vent their rage over long power cuts and wheat shortage in Gilgit-Baltistan region.

The protesters, holding lanterns, staged a sit-in on the town’s Hussaini Chowk, chanting slogans against the government.

A large number of political and social activists took part in the sit-in, responding to a call by the Baltistan Awami Action Committee.

A spokesman for the committee said Skardu was facing power outages lasting as long as 22 hours, amid freezing temperatures.

The protesters raised slogans against the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, condemning it for “indifference to our torment”.

Another problem confronting the populace is wheat shortage. According to Najaf Ali, who heads the Awami Action Committee, and Ghulam Hussain Athar, president of the Anjuman Tajran-i-Skardu, subsidised flour had almost vanished from the market as the federal government had curtailed supply to the region.

They lamented that elected representatives paid no heed to bread-and-butter issues and most of them make themselves scarce whenever the people face hardship.

“Instead of solving people’s problems, they have flown to Islamabad to escape public wrath,” Najaf Ali said.

The Awami Action Committee intends to call a conference of major parties in Gilgit-Baltistan to thrash out a plan to mitigate the people’s misery, he added.

The protesters warned the government that if their demands were not met within 10 days, they would consider intensifying their campaign.

“Public representatives are living like royalty, but hapless voters are running from pillar to post for resolution of their problems,” a demonstrator bemoaned while talking to Dawn.

“Gilgit-Baltistan is a picture of bad governance these days.”

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2022

Opinion

Editorial

IHK resolution
Updated 08 Nov, 2024

IHK resolution

If the BJP administration were to listen to Kashmiris, it could pave the way for the resumption of the political process in IHK.
Climate realities
08 Nov, 2024

Climate realities

THE Air Quality Index in Lahore once again shot past the 1,000-level mark on Wednesday morning, registering at an...
Rule by fear
08 Nov, 2024

Rule by fear

THE abduction of an opposition MNA, as claimed by PTI, is yet another grim episode in Pakistan’s ongoing crisis of...
Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...