Power crisis: Hunza faces 30-hour-long outage

G-B power minister says the situation will improve in coming days.

GILGIT: Days after electricity was restored in Hunza following a week-long outage, the valley experienced a 30-hour-long outage that ended on Sunday.

Locals said they have been outraged by the duration of the outages, which typically exceeds 21 hours a day.

Amjad Hussain, a local, said the prolonged outages have wreaked havoc for all businesses and social activities in the valley. He said that patients are suffering as most of the hospitals do not have resources to run their affairs independently.

The week-long outage was a result of floods in Chosh canal, which damaged the power supply system. G-B Legislative Assembly Speaker Wazir Baig said that the damage caused by the flooding requires massive repairs, time and resources.

According to G-B officials, Hunza required 5 megawatts (MW) of power, while production is stagnant at nearly 3MW as none of the previous government initiated power project in the valley.

However, G-B Minister for Power Wazir Shakeel said the situation will improve in the coming days as the government will initiate mega power projects in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2012.