Residents of Sariab Road in Quetta blocked the highway near Sariab pull on Tuesday to protest gas load-shedding and low gas pressure, defying a provincial ban on public gatherings.
The protest caused long traffic delays, with vehicles backed up on both sides of the road. Murad Lehri, one of the protesters, said unannounced gas outages had severely affected daily life. ‘People are struggling without gas for cooking and heating,’ he said.
The Balochistan government has banned gatherings, sit-ins, and rallies of more than five people, but residents staged the demonstration despite the restrictions. Officials have not yet commented on the situation or announced measures to address the issue.
Quetta’s Sariab Road area often faces severe gas load-shedding and low pressure during the winter months, when demand for heating and cooking spikes. This problem has been a longstanding grievance for residents, who rely heavily on gas as a primary energy source in the harsh winter climate.
Despite promises from authorities, infrastructure limitations and distribution inefficiencies frequently result in unannounced gas outages. This leads to significant hardships for households, disrupting daily life and causing frustration among residents.