Tribesmen continue protest against power cuts in Khyber

BARA/LANDIKOTAL: Thousands of residents have been protesting on the second day in various areas in Khyber tribal district against prolonged electricity loadshedding.

The protesters in Bara, Jamrud and Landikotal tehsils staged separate sit-ins outside the power gridstations and forcibly suspended power supply from the commercial feeders in protest against the prolonged loadshedding.

The speakers said that the Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco) had failed to honour the agreement reached with a local jirga last month.

The protesters blocked the Pak-Afghan Highway and besieged the gridstation in Bara.

Addressing the protesters, a local elder Malik Muhammad Hussain said that Tesco should implement its agreement reached with the locals or else they would continue staging the sit-ins.

He said Tesco was not providing electricity to people of the tribal districts as per the agreement.

The district administration and Tesco officials held negotiations with the members of the Electricity Action Committee of Bara but they failed to persuade the protesters to reopen the Pak-Afghan highway, where long queues of vehicles could be seen parked on the roadside.

The protest has been taking place in Khyber district particularly in Bara for the last two days.

The residents and the Electricity Action Committee rejected the offer of

four hours of electricity supply by the Tesco

officials.

Meanwhile, thousands of residents continued their protest on the second day against power outages in Landikotal.

Holding black flags while staying put at the protest camp, they had blocked the road at Charwazgay Chowk.

The officials held talks with the protesters in order to persuade them to end the protest, but to no avail.

The protesters also cut off the high transmission electricity supply line.

The officials of the Tribal Electric Supply Company said they were supplying four hours of electricity to the residents, who were demanding power for six hours.

Hundreds of trucks were stranded on the roadside in Landikotal due to the protest.