Protests have erupted in Turbat after continuous pro-longed power cuts plague the second largest city of Balochistan.
According to the The Balochistan Post correspondent, protesters gathered outside District Commission’s office, the most-senior local administrator, and expressed anger at the power outages that last for ‘more than 14 hours a day’.
All the markets of the town closed in protest to the load-shedding.
The citizens expressed anger towards QESCO and chanted slogans against the government department responsible for power distribution.
‘The electricity is not only disrupting economic activities but is also acting as a great hindrance for students to study properly,’ a local Baloch student, who was part of the protest, told TBP.
‘In last 4 days, the power outages have lasted for more than 14 hours every day. How is it possible for somebody to even survive in such a hot summer without electricity, let alone carrying on with the businesses?,’ a local shopkeeper complained.
Turbat is one of the hottest cities in the region, where temperatures reach up to 50°C during summer. In May 2017, citizens of Turbat sweltered through the hottest day recorded in Pakistan’s history, as the mercury shot up to 53.5°C.
The Makuran division receives electricity from neighboring Iran. A senior official of QESCO put the blame of disruptions to technical faults. However, some sources alleged that payment of funds have not been made recently to Iran in lieu of electricity received, which has resulted in power outages.
Pakistan ranks 117 out of 180 on Transparency International’s corruption perception index. It has scored 32 out of 100, where 0 is considered highly corrupt in public sector corruption indicators and 100 highly clean.