KHYBER
A shutter down protest was observed in Landi Kotal bazaar against excessive power load shedding in rural areas here on Thursday.
It is to be stated here that on the last day; tribal electric supply company (TESCO) through a notification asked the local grid station to provide only two hours electricity supply to the tribesmen that annoyed the dwellers of the merged tribal region.
Last day a meeting of all political, social and religious figures of the society under the chair of the tehsil chairman was held in which it was decided to demonstrate a comprehensive agitation against what they said was the injustice of the TESCO.
The officer bearers of Anjumane Tajeran(traders union),Landi Kotal bazzar while expressing integration with general masses announced complete shutter down. On the other hand, the protestors approached the Charwazgai point and suspended the Pak-Afghan highway for all kind of traffic.
Addressing to the angry mob their leaders including Mufti Ijaz, Kaleemullah, Syed Muqtader Shah Afridi and others lamented that since the first day of the creation of the country, a step mother behavior had been extended towards the tribal as they had been totally ignored. They would adopt necessary initiatives to win basic rights for the tribal, they vowed.
Later on, the protestors thronged the local grid station and turned off all the feeders to cut supply to the whole subdivision including forces cantonment, hospitals and government installments.
They threatened that till resuming minimum six hours electricity in 24 hours to residents, they would not let the officials continue power supply to the officials.
When the TESCO high official was contacted on the matter he said that earlier the power supply was made on subsidize rate with assistance of the federal government but when the later one withdrew the subsidy, the WAPDA could afford to grant electricity to the tribesmen for free.
