Staff Correspondent
DROSH: Residents of Drosh in Lower Chitral staged a protest on Wednesday against unscheduled load-shedding by the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).
During the protest, the local bazar was closed and vehicular traffic, especially on Chitral-Dir road, disrupted.
The protest brought commercial activities in Drosh Bazar to a standstill as a large number of residents gathered at Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Chowk to demand the immediate withdrawal of the new electricity load-shedding schedule.
According to local residents, PESCO has introduced a new power outage schedule in Drosh over the past two weeks, triggering widespread resentment among consumers.
Representatives of political parties and civil society organisations have joined hands to oppose the schedule, calling for uninterrupted and more reliable electricity supply to the area.
Community leaders said they had held several meetings with district administration officials, urging them to intervene and take up the issue with the relevant authorities. However, they alleged that their concerns had not been addressed, leaving residents with no option but to stage a public protest.
Demand for Restoration of Previous Schedule
Addressing the protesters at Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Chowk, speakers criticised PESCO over the prolonged power outages and alleged that the new schedule was placing an unnecessary burden on local residents.
They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the revised load-shedding schedule and restoration of the previous electricity supply timetable in Drosh.
The speakers said that continued power outages were creating resentment among residents of the otherwise peaceful area. They urged the authorities to take public complaints seriously and resolve the issue without further delay.
The protesters said their demonstration would remain peaceful but vowed to continue their agitation until the previous electricity schedule was restored.
Bazar Remains Closed
Protesters chanted slogans against PESCO and WAPDA, while the closure of Drosh Bazar and the blockade of roads disrupted routine commercial and transport activities.
The residents called on the district administration and the relevant power authorities to intervene and address their concerns over the electricity load-shedding schedule in Drosh.
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Protest against power outages yields result in Drosh