Power outage sparks violent protest in Pakistan

 ISLAMABAD, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Hours of power outage in scorching¹ summer Monday sparked protest in most parts of Pakistan and angry protesters attacked offices of power supply departments in some areas.

Pakistan faces about 5000 MW electricity shortfall which has forced the government to cut power for around 12 hours everyday in major cities including capital Islamabad. In small town and rural areas, power is suspended for nearly 18 hours.

Power shortage has also affected² drinking water system as tube wells could not be run in time. Traders have also joined rallies in different parts of Pakistan who say that power crisis has badly affected their business.

Police fired in the air and used tear gas shells to disperse³ protestors who attacked offices of power supply companies and government vehicles in some parts of the country.

Information Minister Qamar-uz-Zama Kaira said that recent storm affected a few power plants which led to the crisis and promised that the situation would improve in a couple of days.

Officials say that thunderstorms and heavy rains affected the transmission of 1,750 megawatts of electricity supplied by a power plant in Punjab province to the national grid⁴.

In the northwestern city of Abbotabad, traffic on the main Karakuram Highway has been blocked for hours. Also in Charsadda district of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, demonstrators blocked the main road to Peshawar, the provincial⁵ capital. The police fired tear gas shells and used baton⁶ to disperse the demonstrators and to open roads.

In some cities, mobs burnt tyres and suspended traffic. TV footage showed angry protesters chanting slogans against the authorities for failure to ensure smooth power supply during the holy Muslim month of Ramazan.

In view of the severe power shortage and people's resentment⁷, President Asif Ali Zardari convened⁸ a high level meeting to review the situation and to explore ways to improve power supply.

Experts believe that the previous and the incumbent⁹ government have not formulated¹⁰ an effective policy to deal with the power crisis.

Demand for power is fast growing in Pakistan and there is no major policy in the offering to overcome the shortfall.

1 scorching   

adj. 灼热的

参考例句：

• a scorching, pitiless sun 灼热的骄阳
• a scorching critique of the government's economic policy 对政府经济政策的严厉批评

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

4 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

5 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

6 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

7 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

8 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

9 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

10 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》