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People in Gilgit-Baltistan have been facing severe load-shedding for a long time. The agitation of the people recently turned into a massive protest, resulting in scores of women and children organising a rally to express their anger.
The participants of the rally said that they face power outages of around 22 hours daily, and the authorities are not doing their part to resolve their issues. The enraged protesters chanted slogans against the government and lamented that bureaucrats and VIPs are, however, provided uninterrupted electricity through special power lines. The women participants in the rally mentioned that they cannot complete household chores in the absence of electricity, and the children are also unable to study. Noor Bano, a local resident from GB, stated, "We had to come out on the roads to protest after being helpless. The system of electricity is really bad here. We are not getting electricity, it has only been there for about an hour and a half. In that short period, we can neither iron clothes, cook food, nor fill water (with a motor). Already, everything is frozen (due to the cold weather). We are forced to protest on the roads." There have been several protests over these issues in recent months, but the administration has continued to ignore people's plight and has taken no steps to ease their problems. Another local resident, Sharleen Fatimah, said, "The electricity is there around 7 am and is there until around 8 am. During this short time, in Gilgit city, everything is frozen--snow is present on machines, we cannot switch on those water machines (motors). The biggest issue is that we do not have water. The second one is that our children go to school and their uniform is not ironed, and the teachers complain." The locals now blame Pakistan for false claims of granting autonomy to the occupied territory. The elected representatives of GB have no say in policymaking, and people are denied even basic fundamental rights and crucial necessities. Bibi Gul, another resident of the local area, when asked about the severity of the situation and the government's response to it, responded by saying, "I think that the government is not working in the right manner. We have seen numerous governments come to power but none of them have been able to solve our problems. Every government has a statement, that there is less water, which is why electricity cannot be generated but that is not the case." "We have water and rivers in GB, but no government can properly cater to the issue. Even the current government of GB is not taking care of us. The VIPs and the government workers are getting special privileges via special lines, but ultimately the common man suffers," she added. (ANI)
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