Mingora residents protest gas outages.

MINGORA/KARAK -- Hundreds of residents of Saidu Sharif and suburbs took to the streets on Friday against the SNGPL for prolong gas loadshedding and low pressure.

The protesters holding placards inscribed with slogans in favor of their demands gathered at the Saidu Sharif Chowk and blasted the gas company for carrying over 16 hours of loadshedding since the arrival of winter.

'Saidu Sharif is the capital city of Swat where gas was provided 12 years ago, but unfortunately every winter witnesses up to 16 to 20 hours of outages. Following its tradition the SNGPL has suspended gas supply this winter as well,' said Dr Khalid Mehmood, former tehsil nazim.

He said that despite court orders, the SNGPL was observing unscheduled and prolonged gas loadshedding. He said majority of the people were poor and could not afford purchasing costly LPG and firewood.

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'I earn Rs600 daily which is not sufficient for meeting daily needs of my family. Nowadays I have to pay extra money to purchase LPG for cooking for which I have to lend money. I also pay the gas bill regularly,' Javed ur Rehman, a rickshaw driver, said, adding life had become very hard for the poor as price hike had reached to alarming levels.

Ahmad Naseer, another resident, said the gas supply line to Saidu Sharif was very narrow compared to other areas.

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