Govt warned against lingering power crisis in Upper Chitral

PARWAK: Participants of  a protest gathering here on Tuesday warned the government to resolve the lingering power crisis in Upper Chitral caused by a row between two government departments over payment of dues.

The public gathering was held on the call of Tehreek Huqooq-e-Awam to raise voice against the unending power crisis in Upper Chitral and to warn the government of a mass public agitation in case the issue was not resolved on a permanent basis, ChitralToday correspondents reported. 

The protesters said even after the completion of the 108 megawatt powerhouse at Golen Gol, Upper Chitral was not being provided electricity on different pretexts. The government has failed to ensure supply by laying transmission lines and fixing the old and broken distribution network of PEDO.

The speakers at the public gathering said they had been told by MNA Molana Abdul Akbar that there was a row between WAPD and PEDO over dues amounting to millions of rupees and due to this the departments were not ready to resolve the power crisis in Upper Chitral.

The speakers also came down hard on elected representatives of Chitral, including the MNA, MPA and the chief minister’s assistant, for their failure to get the power crisis in Upper Chitral resolved, forcing the masses to take to streets frequently.

In a resolution, they asked the government to resolve the issue otherwise it would be responsible for any untoward incident in case of a mas protest against unavailability of electricity in the area.