Massive protests in interior Sindh against loadshedding
PAKISTAN - 16 APRIL 2010
15-18 hours power outages severely affecting trade
SUKKUR: A huge protest rally was taken out here in Sukkur against prolonged loadshedding and water scarcity.
Political parties, including the JI, PML-N, Sunni Tehreek and local traders, took out the protest rally against power outages. Marching through different streets of the city, the rally terminated at Ghunta Ghar.
The protestors alleged that 14 to 16 hours of power breakdowns had multiplied the miseries of citizens. According to them, Sukkur is the largest business centre of Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, but due to the negligence of the authorities concerned, the city was braving losses of millions of rupees and traders were compelled to wind up their businesses.
They also alleged that 80 per cent of the population of district was deprived of drinking water while the streets remained inundated by sewage. Our Larkana correspondent adds: Hundreds of people from different areas on Thursday held demonstrations against prolonged and unscheduled power outages in their respective localities.
The protestors chanted slogans against the Hesco and blocked the road for about two hours by burning tyres. They accused the power utility of paralysing the city as the locals were neither able to perform their routine work during the day nor were able to sleep at night.
They criticised the federal minister for power for his false claims about ending loadshedding by December 2009. According to them, the situation has not only remained unchanged but in most cases deteriorated.
They said that 15 to 18 hours of power outages had severely affected trade and business activities and rendered thousands of people jobless. The worst affected were labourers and daily wage-earners, they said. They also warned that people would launch a mass protest movement across the country if the government failed to overcome the power shortage.
Source: The News International Pakistan
PAKISTAN - 16 APRIL 2010
15-18 hours power outages severely affecting trade
SUKKUR: A huge protest rally was taken out here in Sukkur against prolonged loadshedding and water scarcity.
Political parties, including the JI, PML-N, Sunni Tehreek and local traders, took out the protest rally against power outages. Marching through different streets of the city, the rally terminated at Ghunta Ghar.
The protestors alleged that 14 to 16 hours of power breakdowns had multiplied the miseries of citizens. According to them, Sukkur is the largest business centre of Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, but due to the negligence of the authorities concerned, the city was braving losses of millions of rupees and traders were compelled to wind up their businesses.
They also alleged that 80 per cent of the population of district was deprived of drinking water while the streets remained inundated by sewage. Our Larkana correspondent adds: Hundreds of people from different areas on Thursday held demonstrations against prolonged and unscheduled power outages in their respective localities.
The protestors chanted slogans against the Hesco and blocked the road for about two hours by burning tyres. They accused the power utility of paralysing the city as the locals were neither able to perform their routine work during the day nor were able to sleep at night.
They criticised the federal minister for power for his false claims about ending loadshedding by December 2009. According to them, the situation has not only remained unchanged but in most cases deteriorated.
They said that 15 to 18 hours of power outages had severely affected trade and business activities and rendered thousands of people jobless. The worst affected were labourers and daily wage-earners, they said. They also warned that people would launch a mass protest movement across the country if the government failed to overcome the power shortage.
Source: The News International Pakistan