Power Protests End: AJK govt accepts consumers’ demands

Traders called off their shutter-down strike after AJK government, (IESCO) accepted their demands.

MIRPUR: After five days of protest, the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government accepted the demands of local residents and traders calling for an end to prolonged power outages in Palandri district of Poonch division. The traders called off their shutter-down strike on Saturday evening after the AJK government and the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) accepted their demands in a meeting of Joint Action Forum members and concerned AJK government officials at the Kashmir House. “The exercise of forced and unscheduled power load-shedding has been ended by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). The AJK electricity Department has been conferred with the powers to devise the daily load shedding schedule,” said Zaffar Iqbal, a representative of the protestant power consumers, quoting the assurance given by the authorities to the Joint Action Committee. Elaborating on the agreement, Iqbal said it includes provision of receipts of last month’s electricity bill, waiving off the meter rent from the consumers, issuance of computerized electricity bills from the month of July.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2012.