TAXILA: Enraged residents from various areas of Taxila, who were deprived of electricity in the sweltering summer heat for the last three days, staged a protest on Sunday and blocked the Taxila-Hattar Road for an hour.

The power supply was suspended following a problem with the power transformer in the area. Since Wapda employees were on strike, protesting the proposed privatisation of the company, no officials were available to fix the transformer. Domestic and commercial consumers in various localities, along the Taxila-Hattar Road, did not have electricity for three days. Absence of electricity resulted in severe water shortage in the area. Domestic consumers faced numerous difficulties and business activities came to a grinding halt in the commercial areas.

The angry residents came out on the streets and blocked the Taxila-Hattar Road by burning tyres. The protesters were holding placards with slogans against Wapda and Iesco written on them.

Those who spoke at the protest said the long hours of loadshedding have severely affected business activities in the area and now this long power outage is wrecking havoc on their lives. They said that residents had to travel to various parts of the city to bring water from tubewells. The speakers said that since they pay their electricity bills, having uninterrupted power supply is their right.

Usman Butt, a resident of the area, said the electricity supply for the entire area was suspended when the transformer broke down.

“When the residents of the area visited the local Wapda office and requested the officials to fix the transformer, they refused,” he said.

Shazia Bibi, another resident, said people were facing serious problems since the suspension of power supply.

“People don’t even have drinking water, let alone, water to do their chores,” she said.

The protesters refused to leave even when the police arrived and hot words were exchanged between the cops and the residents. The protest finally ended when Wapda officials arrived and assured the protesters that a new transformer would be installed.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2015

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