MANSEHRA: Local traders on Wednesday threatened to besiege the Peshawar Electric Supply Company offices and grid station over the excessive loadshedding.

They claimed electric supply to Mansehra and adjoining areas remained suspended in Mansehra and adjoining areas for as long as 18 hours daily.

The traders said the prolonged power outages had been continuing for a couple of days.

`We have been tired of because of the current prolonged spate of power outages as neither we can sleep nor we can run our business in such circumstances,` president of traders body Hafiz Ijaz told reporters on Wednesday.

Accompanied with other office-bearers of the traders` body, Ijaz said the business community was the worst hit by the excessive loadshedding.

`Now, the loadshedding duration has reached record 18 hours daily in the city disturbing our businesses,` he said.

Trader leader said the PML-N ruling the centre had failed to keep its promise of easing energy crisis and thus, losing public mandate to rule the country.

He said energy crisis in Mansehra were worsen after the Khan Khawar hydropower project supplying electricity to the district was linked with the national grid.

`We want direct electric supply from Khan Khawar hydropower project. If Mansehra is not directly linked with it, traders will beside Pesco offices and its grid station in Mansehra,`he said.

Ijaz said the excessive loadshedding had badly affected the businesses of small and medium enterprisers.

He said the PML-N was losing popularity in the region over failure to ensure smooth electric supply.

HOSPITAL UNDERSTAFFED: The people of Balakot tehsil have complained about shortage of staff, especially doctors, at the civil hospital functioning in a rented building since being washed away by the 2010 flash floods and said they had long been without healthcare facilities.

`The hospital is unable to provide health services to local population as eight of the total of 10 doctors posts have been lying vacant for years. The health department is not bothered about filling these vacancies,` tehsil councilor-elect Rustam Khan told reporters in Balakot on Wednesday.

Leading a group of local residents, Rustam Khan said the hospital`s affairs were in a mess. He said the hospital was functioning in a rented hospital as its main building was washed away by flooding in 2010 and therefore, it was unable to caterto thelocalpopulation.

`The bedding capacity of the hospital has drastically shrunk due to limited space available in the rented building,` he said.

RustamKhansaidthehospitalwasdestroyedinthe2005earthquake and a prefabricated structure was built at its own place but the flash 2010 flooding of the Kunhar River swept it away.

`The communication department has allocated another place for the hospital but neither the provincial government nor the federal government is sincere about its construction, he said. Correspondent