ATTOCK, Aug 29: Hundreds of angry people on Friday blocked the Attock-Fatehjang road for three hours to protest against the “indifferent and humiliating” attitude of the Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) officials.

The protesters, mostly from Dhoke Fateh area, armed with by sticks and iron bars gathered on the road near Attock Flour Mills and chanted slogans against the Iesco officials.

They blocked the road at different points by placing hurdles and burning tyres and bushes.

On receiving the information, DSP Attock and other police officials rushed to the site to keep the situation under control. They held negotiation with the protesters, who refused to open the road until power supply was restored and other issues were settled.

Local notables told the police officials and journalists that electricity supply was suspended on Thursday after some fault in the transformer, but Iesco had failed to restore power despite passage of more than 24 hours.

They complained that even Iesco’s Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and other staff had switched off their mobile phones to avoid receiving complaints.

“We braved unprecedented power outages during the last two days which made our life miserable. We are already facing six-hour scheduled loadshedding,” they said.

They also claimed that the Iesco officials did not act unless their palms were greased or when the complainant was an influential personality. Some residents said their electricity meters burnt out three days ago but those were not being replaced on one pretext or the other.

Majority of the people complained against the local lineman and the meter reader, accusing them of creating problems for the consumers for their personal interest. Some even blasted the PPP-led government for the victimisation and humiliation they were going through.

Meanwhile, on repeated requests of the DSP Attock, the Iesco’s SDO and some others officials arrived at the protest site with a transformer to replace the faulty one.

In response to the public complaints, SDO Mr Nasir assured the protesters that power supply would be restored “very soon” and that the problematic lineman would be transferred.

The SDO also said that the loadshedding schedule would be displayed in front of his office for public awareness, adding that he would also take notice of misbehaviour on the part of the Iesco staff. On these assurances and requests by the local notables and police, the demonstrators ended their protest and dispersed peacefully.

It is worth mentioning here that few days back, an angry mob attacked the local Iesco house with bricks and stones, besides blocking the road to protest against power outages and harsh attitude of the Iesco officials.

Meanwhile the local traders and residents also staged a joint protest rally at the main bazaar in the city against power breakdowns.

The protesters, led by president, Anjuman Tajran Master Rashid Rehman marched from main bazaar after Friday prayers towards Fawwara Chowk chanting slogans against the Iesco and the government. They regretted that the power failures have paralysed the civic life, particularly commercial activities.

The students and patients are affected the most. They blamed the Iesco’s mismanagement for the situation. They demanded of the government to take note of the situation. Later the protesters dispersed peacefully.

TAXILA: Massive unscheduled power outages have been causing mental stress on the people already suffering from loadshedding in the twin cities of Taxila and Hassanabdal.