Power cuts add to citizens’ woes

Residents urge officials concerned to supply water through bowsers

KAHUTA:

Unannounced power cuts for 14 to 16 hours a day in Kahuta and surrounding areas have made residents’ life miserable in the holy month of Ramazan.

Residents said that they are not provided relief even during Sehri and Iftar and Taraweeh prayers times.

Sanaullah, a resident of Kahuta, told The Express Tribune that children and the elderly are suffering the most in this scorching heat and unavailability of electricity makes their lives even harder.

He added that people are also facing severe water scarcity due to unnannocued and prolonged loadsheddding.

The citizens demanded that the officials concerned should provide residents water through water tankers.

Several locals and opposition political leaders have claimed that Kahuta is currently the most underdeveloped and backward tehsil of Rawalpindi.

“Kahuta is completely deprived of basic amenities even in this modern age. The streets of Kahuta are in ruins," said opposition leaders.

“The residents of Kahuta are deprived of basic amenities even in this modern age, despite paying millions of rupees in taxes," they added.

Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer of PP-7 Raja Tanveer Ahmed, Abrar Hussain Abbasi, City President PML-N Kahuta Dr Muhammad Arif Qureshi and President Pakistan Peoples Party Kahuta Asif Rabbani Qureshi got together to discuss the many problems in Kahuta.

Read PM eyes hydel power generation to curb load shedding

The opposition members claim that instead of paving roads with pre-mix worth Rs2 million, new methods using tuff tiles was established. "The projects remain incomplete, and even the little work done was with substandard material," they said. "The city's roads have been ruined, and nothing has been completed even after months."

The youth of Kahuta also protested against the conditions in the area. They said that they launched official complaints against the concerned agencies, including the Complaints Cell and the management, but no action was taken.

MNA Sikandar Satti and former City President PTI Raja Waheed Ahmed Khan responded, saying, “Construction of roads in Kahuta city will be completed and the contractor has been informed to provide quality tuff tiles. No concessions will be given for substandard materials and work.”

It has also been over a year since the Rs12 million Karot Hydropower Project to upgrade the Kahuta Club was announced, but work is yet to be completed. Former AC Kahuta Yasir Rizwan was asked several times to use these funds and some work was started, but remains unfinished. These funds were also to be used to build recreational places for children.

AC Kahuta insisted that work was in progress. "It will be completed soon and opened to the public. The best facilities will be provided," he said, adding that the opposition and members of the former municipal committee had set aside a grant of Rs2.6 million to install and repair street lights. "However, nothing has changed in the streetlights in Kahuta.”

Former MC Malik and former head of the inquiry committee Abdul Rauf said, “Rs2.6 million had been embezzled. The city of Kahuta, also known as Bab-e-Kashmir, is close to ruin due to lack of interest of the administration and elected representatives.”

Locals demanded that a transparent inquiry from Commissioner Rawalpindi be held into all these projects. They also demanded action from the recently appointed Assistant Commissioner Seemal Mushtaq.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2022.