Peshawar   -   People suffered immensely in several localities of the provincial capital on Friday as electricity supply remained suspended from 3pm and could not be restored till the filing of this report.

The residents condemned what they called mismanagement of the PESCO electricity feeders as several neighbourhood councils linked to Rahman Baba Grid Station plunged into darkness.

It may be mentioned here that the city areas of Kohati Road, Wazirbagh Road, National Bank Colony and adjacent areas fall in the city and they had been linked to the city areas’ gird station in the past.

However, during the tenure of former MNA Shaukat Ali, these city areas were transferred from city to the rural area of Rahman Baba Gird Station and local residents even protested against the former MNA under whom this change had taken place.

Several residents of neighbourhood council-44 and National Bank Colony, led by Abdul Rehman, said that it even if the Rahman Baba Grid Station developed fault, it should have been put right within 5 to 6 hours.

“There has been blackout since 3pm and now it is 10pm and still there is no assurance that power supply is to be restored anytime soon. This is pathetic,” he added.

“Also, it is a serious injustice to our [city] areas to have been linked to the Rahman Baba Gird Station. If we are regularly paying bills in the city, our city areas must be linked to the city feeders and grid station,” he said.

Several residents said that there are children and particularly patients, who are suffering due to the electricity breakdown.

Meanwhile a spokesman for PESCO, Usman Khan, said that some people had forcibly restored power supply at the Rahman Baba Grid Station, which then developed fault as a result.

“Our staff managed load. But the locals’ action caused fault in several transformers at the grid station and the staff is working to repair them,” he claimed.