Power woes: Disappointed by govt, Swatis find their own solution

Launch fund raising campaign to replace 90 faulty electric transformers in the district.

SWAT: Disappointed by the government’s apathy to resolve their electricity problems, residents of Swat have decided to take on the issues themselves.

Residents of a number of localities of Swat District have initiated a fund raising campaign to repair or replace over 90 faulty electric transformers in the areas, which occasionally break down or provide very low voltages to consumers during the few hours that electricity is supplied.

Abdul Rahim, the president of the Traders Federation in Mingora, explained that for a long time an electric transformer in the Mingora Grid Station was out of order and caused smaller transformers in various localities of Swat to get overloaded, causing them to break down or develop faults. “Once the smaller transformers started developing faults, we repeatedly complained to the government and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to replace the main faulty transformer in the Mingora Grid Station but no one heard our pleas,” said Rahim. “Since the authorities refuse to help us, pooling up money to replace these transformers ourselves seems to be the only viable option,” he added.

When asked how much money the locals have gathered till now, he said as the campaign has only just begun and funds are being collected by elders of different localities. He, however, hoped that the government would listen to their pleas and replace their faulty transformers.

Maaz Khan, who runs an electric appliance repair shop in Mingora Bazaar, said that most of the localities in Swat face 18 hours of power outages in a day and during the few hours that electricity supply is resumed, voltage supplied by the faulty transformers is so low that electric appliances fail to function or break down. “One would assume that given the sheer number of electrical appliances breaking down, those running repair shops might be earning a lot,” said Khan, “but the problem is that we too need electricity to check faults and repair the appliances.” Khan said that as a result of the outages and low-voltage problem, his business has slumped. “I can’t make ends meet and have to borrow money to feed my family,” he added.

Locals said they are facing water shortage as tube well motors are lying idle due to outages and low-voltage issues. “For the last five months my family has been carrying water from far off places for household use,” said Aqal Firoz, a local labourer. “All day long we keep fetching water; we are in a constant torment,” he said. Firoz added that even though they barely receive or use electricity, he has received a bill of Rs5,000.

When contacted, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Member Sher Shah Khan admitted that a major transformer of the Mingora Grid Station is out of order. The station was damaged by floods and then by militant attacks, said Shah. “The main reason is shortage of power transformers in the Mingora Grid Station,” said Shah. He added that tenders to procure the transformers have been announced and hoped that they will soon be installed.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2012.