By Syed Tauqeer Zaidi
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Residents of Dera Ismail Khan and surrounding suburban areas staged a protest outside Islamia School on Monday against prolonged electricity outages and frequent power tripping, blocking a main road and causing lengthy traffic queues.
The demonstration was led by Gul Malook Khan, Samiullah Khan and Hanan Nasir, with protesters chanting slogans against the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and demanding an immediate end to what they described as unannounced load-shedding and recurring power disruptions.
The protesters said the outages were affecting Dera city, nearby neighbourhoods, the CRBC area, Mandhran, and consumers connected to the University Feeder.
Residents complained that prolonged electricity cuts during the ongoing heatwave had disrupted daily life and business activities, urging the district administration to intervene and resolve the issue without delay.
Speakers at the protest said the demonstration remained peaceful and expressed their willingness to hold talks with the relevant authorities. However, they warned that the protest movement would be expanded if their concerns were not addressed.
Consumers served by the University Feeder alleged they were already facing around 20 hours of daily load-shedding, with additional unscheduled outages occurring outside the published timetable. They said electricity, when restored, often tripped again within minutes, leaving households and businesses without a reliable power supply.
Residents also claimed that repeated voltage fluctuations had damaged household appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners, fans, water pumps, televisions and other electronic equipment, resulting in significant financial losses.
They further said the prolonged outages had triggered a severe water shortage because electric water pumps could not operate, adding that women, children, elderly people, patients and students had been particularly affected during the extreme summer heat.
The protesters accused the power utility of failing to respond effectively to repeated complaints and called on the Deputy Commissioner, district administration, elected representatives and senior authorities to take immediate notice of the situation, hold those responsible accountable and restore a stable electricity supply.
PESCO had not issued an immediate response to the protesters’ allegations.
