CHITRAL: Hundreds of people of Union Council Koh held a protest meeting and demonstration under the chair of Maulvi Abdul Rahman, former member Provincial Assembly at Moorilasht. Addressing the protest meeting, the speakers said that a 107 megawatt power plant has been constructed by WAPDA in the same union council, while the Border Rural Support Program has constructed a two megawatt power plant in Gulin Valley, while the Provincial Department of Electronics PEDO (Pakhtun Khwa Energy Development Organization) has also built 4 megawatt hydro power plant, but despite three power houses, but more than twenty-five thousand people in this area have been deprived from electricity for the past one year. Electricity was supplied to this area from the power plant since its establishment but in the disastrous floods of 2015, the Reshon Power Plant was also destroyed due to the flood. During this time, the area was supplied with electricity by Pesco. Now last year when the Reshun power plant was rebuilt, this area was once again plunged into darkness and neither Pesco nor Pedo is ready to give us electricity, although we pay the electricity bill regularly and there is no concept of electricity theft here. The speakers also alleged that the Pedo department owes to pay twenty billion rupees to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company, due to which Pesco is no longer ready to supply electricity to Pedo consumers.
The speakers said that there is a dispute between Pesco and Pedo over line loss and tariff i.e. electricity rates. They alleged that Pedo has not paid Pesco twenty billion rupees as a result PESCO is not ready to give more electricity to consumers of PEDO. On this occasion, they also severely criticized the elected members of the assembly from Chitral that they come to us again and again at the time of voting, but they have no interest in solving our long-standing problem. The representatives of all the political and religious parties participated in the protest on non political basis under only one agenda and recorded their protest that we should be given electricity.
Speakers said that we have called many meetings and met the administration officials and requested them repeatedly but there was no hearing on our request. They said that there are more than 25000 people living in this area but here day and night get only two hours of electricity and 22 hours of blackout. The speakers said that due to not providing of electricity to such a large number of consumers, on the one hand, the electricity department also faces financial loss, while on the other hand, the people here are forced to live in the dark even in this modern age. They said that we are Pakistanis and it is the responsibility of the state to provide us our basic right i.e. electricity. The speakers said that due to the lack of electricity, the elderly people are unable to go to the Mosque for worship and our children have lost their eyesight while studying in the light of lanterns. On this occasion, there was a complete shutter down strike in Mori Lisht and all the shops were closed.
In the protest meeting, slogans against the Pedo Department were also raised. Maulvi Abdul Rehman, Abdul Ghaffar Lal, Maulana Akhunzada Rahmatullah, Syed Jalaluddin, Safdar Ali Kash, Khawaja Amanullah, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and lawyers also expressed their displeasure. They warned in the meeting that if electricity is not provided to this area within 24 hours, we will be forced to cut all the electricity lines passing through here and will be forced to suspend the electricity supply to other areas as well. They warned that if our legitimate and genuine demand was not fulfilled , we will be forced to take stern action including blocking Booni, Shandur road and sit-in dharna along with women and children. The assistant commissioner of Chitral met the people responsible for the protest meeting and assured them that electricity will be provided within 24 hours. The protest meeting was disbursed on the surety of AC Chitral.
By Gul Hamaad Farooqi
