Man killed during protest against power cuts

A man was killed during protest in Daroghawala against prolonged power cuts. People were protesting against power outages when some of them set ablaze a filling station. Guards at the station opened firing on the protesters, killing one of them on the spot.
The protest rally was on its way from Daroghawala area to Shalimar Chowk when the incident took place. The protestors burnt tyres and blocked roads for several hours. The protestors in the area of Shalimar Chowk claimed that the two men had gone to the petrol pump to drink water but the guard opened fire on them. They further said that the police remained silent spectator and did not take any action against the guard. However, the police took the guard into custody after the incident.
A number of protests held in other major cities including Faisalabad where protestors damaged cars with sticks and blocked roads. Factory workers said that the due to loadshedding factories did not operate which results in their pay loss. A case was also registered against more than 300 protestors who looted shops and were involved in damaging property in Faisalabad. In Sargodha, businessmen also protested and chanted slogans against the government. Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif vowed to support the protestors while speaking to media in Faisalabad.
Director General Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) told Business Recorder that power shortfall has reached 5500MW with meager hydel generation of 2483MW, followed by 1751MW through thermal, 4725MW IPPs and 89MW RPPs respectively. He said that power generation had reduced due to less hydel generation as water level was dead in Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs and less supply of fuel.
Meanwhile, the PPP Punjab leadership had criticised the opposition for political point scoring in the election year. Talking to Business Recorder, former PPP Punjab Secretary General Ghulam Abbas said it was not the PPP but the whole coalition setup responsible for power cuts. He slammed the Punjab government for its non-co-operative attitude in dealing with power crisis.
However, some analysts believe that it was a national challenge and there was a dire need to be united in order to deal with the situation. It may be noted that the PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali had warned of a long march towards the President House if government failed to resolve the issue within a few days.