MANSEHRA: The blockade of the Karakoram Highway in Upper Kohistan continued for the eighth consecutive day on Monday despite the district administration launching the installation of electricity supply lines from the Chuchang Gridstation to domestic and commercial consumers.
“We understand your problems arising from the delay in the provision of electricity from the Chuchang Gridstation and have started laying transmission lines. You should call off the blockade of the KKH as a goodwill gesture,” Deputy Commissioner of Upper Kohistan Azizullah Jan told a delegation of protesters led by Maulana Umar Umeer.
The deputy commissioner said that protesters could personally visit the Chuchang Gridstation, where pylons, poles and transmission wires had been offloaded from trucks, and work was underway to ensure electricity supply to residents in different parts of the district.
“This task, including the installation of pylons and poles and the laying of electricity transmission lines, will take some time to complete. Therefore, you should end your sit-in and blockade of the KKH for the convenience of passengers travelling between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan,” Azizullah Jan said.
Maulana Umar Umeer, speaking on behalf of the protesters, told the deputy commissioner that they would first visit the grid station to assess the pace of work before announcing their future course of action.
“Our protest will continue as usual from 5 pm to midnight. We will announce our future line of action after visiting the grid station and witnessing the progress of the work, including the arrival of the material required to ensure electricity supply,” he said.
Meanwhile, motorists and passengers travelling on the KKH through Upper Kohistan remained stranded in long queues of vehicles at various points where traffic police had halted traffic due to the protest.
