Islamabad
Protests were held in Multan, Lahore and Karachi against the exorbitant power bills.
Residents and traders in Multan’s Alfalah Market took to the streets to protest against the electricity bills as they held banners and set tyres on fire, hence blocking roads.
Speaking to DawnNewsTV, one of the protestors lamented that he was the sole breadwinner of the family and his bill was Rs24,000 even though he only used “one refrigerator and fans”. He added that last month too his electricity bill was Rs23,000.
Another man said, “Flour is Rs150/kg, petrol is Rs300/litre — tell me where should I go, what should I do?”
“Should I give poison to my children?” he asked while visibly enraged. “Why is Wapda (Water and Power Development Authority) given free electricity?”
Stating that his electricity bill was Rs15,000 while house rent was Rs13,000, he asked, “Should I commit robbery? To us peaceful and pious citizens… I ask you to correct yourselves otherwise the public will not let you go.”
He then called for reducing the bills by 75pc, asserting that was everyone’s demand.
During a press conference held by the Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajran Pakistan, it announced initiating a “protest movement” against the excessively high bills.
The union’s chairman, Khawaja Salman Siddiqui said, “If the demands (to lower power prices) are not accepted, we will proceed towards a civil disobedience movement.”
Meanwhile, residents, including women and children, in Lahore’s Shahdara also held protests they burned this month’s bills and vowed to not pay them.
Video footage from Lahore showed a pile of bills set on fire as dozens of people of all ages gathered on the streets and chanted, “Bijli mehngi, namanzoor [Expensive electricity is unacceptable].”
