HYDERABAD: Public protests broke out in different parts of the city on Thursday following several days of an acute water shortage experienced by consumers owing to discontinuation of power supply to the water and sewerage facilities by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco).

People took to the streets in busy commercial areas and disrupted vehicular movement by putting hurdles and burning tyres and junk on thoroughfares. Prolonged snarls-up were witnessed on most major roads of the city and hundreds of commuters travelling in public and private vehicles remained stuck for hours.

Raising slogans against Hesco for crippling the city’s water and sewerage system, they dumped garbage outside its offices. The disconnection follows a Hesco-Sindh government row over recovery of power dues.

Hesco claims that the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) had over Rs6.5 billion dues to be paid to the power utility.

A complete mess was witnessed in the main commercial areas where groups of people raising slogans against Hesco, Wasa and the Sindh government paralyzed life for hours by littering roads and streets with stones and junk.

In some localities, club-wielding youths along with stone throwers threatened commuters with attack on their vehicles.

However, they restricted their agitation to demonstration and road blockade.

Most of the agitators were heard saying that they had not received a drop of water for the past five days. Some others said their localities had turned into pools of sewage.

The areas worst-affected by public agitation included Liberty Chowk, Dadan Shah, Timber Market, Cloth Market, Guru Nagar, Cloth Market, Latifabad, Phulelli and Qazi Qayyum Road.

Elected representatives Sabir Qaimkhani, Rashid Khilji and others also joined in the public protest saying that the Hesco-Wasa dispute had made the life of Hyderabad citizens miserable. They alleged that the people of Hyderabad were being discriminated against by the Sindh government. They slammed Hesco for suspending power supply to Wasa installations.

PPP leaders Ahsanullah Abro also criticised Hesco for depriving people of drinking water. He said the PML-N government was taking revenge from the people of Sindh as they did not elect its candidates in the general elections.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry sub-committee for Wasa Abdul Waheed Shaikh has urged the provincial government to take notice of the situation and release necessary funds to Wasa.