MANSEHRA: Thousands of people, including traders and local government representatives, on Thursday took to the streets in the Garhi Habibullah against inflated electricity bills and blocked the road connecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“Power supply remains suspended for over 16 hours daily but our electricity bills for July are five to six times more than the one issued in the corresponding

month last year,” chairman of the Garhi Habibullah neighbourhood council Yalmaz Khan told protesters.

The traders observed a complete shutter-down strike, while thousands of protesters blocked the Kashmir Road by setting fire to old tyres.

They shouted slogans against the government and Peshawar Electric Supply Company over the excessive power cuts and demanded an immediate halt to them and withdrawal of surcharge and tariff hikes introduced in the recent months.

The passengers travelling between KP and GB remained stranded in the region from 8am to the evening.

President of the traders’ body in Garhi Habibullah Mohammad Ashraf Awan said that traders were facing economic losses due to the suspension of electricity.

“Despite daylong power cuts, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company dispatched bills, which we cannot afford to pay,” he said.

Karnol village council chairman Sajid Khan said that the residents would block the Kashmir Road if exorbitant bills weren’t withdrawn and power suspension stopped.

The residents of Dalola village council in Abbottabad also attended the protest in large numbers.

Council chairman Sardar Abbasi complained that the power

utility subjected commercial and domestic consumers to daylong power outages but received exorbitant bills.

The protesters later blocked the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road, which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Gilgit-Baltistan, and announced the closure of both arteries until their demands were met.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024