Bamyan students protest power outages

BAMAYAN CITY (PAN): Hundreds of university students protested against the night-time suspension of electricity supply in central Bamyan province on Monday.

Nearly 300 Bamyan University and religious school students took to the streets at 9pm and started heading toward the governor’s house, but police stopped them.

“Our rooms go dark like graves in the evening due to power outages,” a protesting student, Mohammad Halim, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said the lack of electricity showed the step-motherly attitude of the central government toward students, who were unable to buy solar systems for themselves.

“I regret my choice of Bamyan University. I have a laptop, but it needs to be charged. I have a lot to study which is impossible in the absence of electricity,” said another student, Mohammad Arif.

Deputy police chief, Co. Ghulam Sakhi, said the protest — the fourth in 10 days — ended on a peaceful note. “It is our duty to provide security for people. Police remained alert to prevent the demo from turning violent.”

Residents say they have been faced with power crisis over the past 10 years. Two months ago, they staged a protest against the power shortfall. Half of nearly 8,000 families in Bamyan City use kerosene lanterns in their houses.

myn/ma/mud