The protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with demands for ensuring smooth power supply to the localities. A consumer Nasrumminallah told media persons that the frequent load shedding forced the people to hold protest demonstration. "We endure prolonged power suspensions, sometimes for 16 and 18 hours but the PESCO officials are least bothered to pay heed towards our complaints," he alleged and added that the prolonged outages had badly affected agriculture and other technical activities in the local market which caused increase in the existing unemployment.
The residents of Hazarkhwani, Musazai, Kohat Rorad and adjacent localities, he said are the worst affected. He said that the well-off people had managed to get water by installing diesel generators but the poor community has no other option in this regard.
Besides, he said that the residents could not grind grain in the local grind mills and had to purchase wheat flour from the market which is very difficult for the poor families. "We will forcefully stop the power supply to rest of the localities from Rehman Baba Grid Station if supply to our localities is not restored immediately," the protestors warned and appealed to government to take the issue seriously and solve it at the earliest.