Islamabad [Pakistan], May 30 : After dealing with electricity shortage for days amid a scorching heatwave, the residents of Landi Kotal town in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa laid a siege to the local grid station as the authorities refused to provide them with the promised six hours of electric supply, reported Dawn.
Around 100 protesters barged into the grid station and suspended power supply to the entire tehsil along with the Torkham border.
They were holding black flags and chanting slogans against Tribal Areas Electric Supply Company, as reported by Dawn.
While remaining peaceful and not wrangling with the grid station staff, the protesters made it clear they would not vacate the premises until they were given firm assurance about the supply of the promised six hours of electricity.
The protesters continued to siege till the grid staff filed the report as they refused to give any assurance in the absence of responsible Tesco officials.
Meanwhile, prisoners in the congested Bara sub-jail also complained about suffocating situations due to excessive load shedding, reported Dawn.
Around 200 prisoners, communicated to the media persons through their relatives and said that a meter was installed at the sub-jail and the monthly bills were regularly deposited, but even then they were subjected to excessive load shedding.
They further said that some inmates also fainted due to suffocation. In Jamrud, residents said that the power supply was disconnected the other day as a windstorm struck the region, adversely affecting life in Ali Masjid, Rikiyalai, Shahgai, Ghundi and the surrounding localities.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was expected to hold an "urgent meeting", regarding the power outages across various regions in Pakistan, reported ARY News, citing sources.
Earlier, he took notice of the widespread complaints regarding power outages in Pakistan.
Last week, an electricity supplying company in Pakistan, K-Electric issued a stern warning to cut off power supply to the departments of the Sindh government over remaining dues amounting to billions of rupees, reported ARY News, citing sources.
According to the sources close to the development, the Sindh government and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) have not cleared any payments to K-Electric since January.
The non-payment of dues has led to a financial crisis for K-Electric, causing significant difficulties in network maintenance. Moreover, the Water and Sewerage Board alone owes K-Electric 5 billion rupees.
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