DROSH, June 21: Despite claims and promises made by the local administration and the power utility company officials, it seems there is no end to the miseries of the residents of the Drosh town and its nearby areas who have been without proper electricity supply for years.
The 1.8 megawatt Shishi powerhouse was established about three years back to supply uninterrupted electricity to the town but due to corruption and use of substandard material the powerhouse could not produce the needed electricity and even stopped production. Since its establishment at a cost of millions of rupees, a huge amount of money has been spent on its repair and maintenance but even then it has failed to meet the requirements of the consumers. At the moment, the Drosh town and adjacent villages are experiencing over 12 hours of laodshedding daily.
Recently, the authorities concerned told the residents that they had spent millions of rupees to repair the powerhouse, including upgrading its runners from Islamabad. The people of the area had expressed the hope that at least this summer they would be getting uninterrupted electricity. But their hopes dashed to the ground within less than a month when they again started facing over 12 hours of loadshedding in the scorching heat.
People in the town had given a call for a protest on June 20 but that was postponed due to some unavoidable circumstances and it is expected that the protest would be held on coming Friday. The power crisis has created uneasiness and resentment among the residents who in separate groups are holding meetings on a daily basis and pointing fingers at each other for making false promises and failing to resolve the matter. It seems that the local administration is also playing a cat and mouse game in order to keep the residents busy and divided on the issue in order to avoid a united public agitation.
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