Subzero temperatures: Eight days on without power, Upper Dir left to face the cold

WAPDA officials claim they are unable to locate the fault causing the outage.

UPPER DIR: Residents of three union councils (UC) Palam, Jabar and Tarpatar in Upper Dir are facing severe problems due to the suspension of power supply since February 2. As temperatures reach subzero, people are unable heat their homes.

“When snowfall started on the night of February 2, Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) halted the power supply and it still hasn’t been restored,” said Bakht Zamin, who runs a general store in Tarpatar. Residents have been forced to bear the cold without heating and water since both require electricity.

Zamin explained WAPDA officials did not respond, despite repeated complaints. People cannot even leave their homes to protest as the weather is too harsh, he said.

Nasirzada, a resident of Jabar, shared they have been unable to contact their relatives in Usherai Darra as most lines of communication are down; with frequent avalanches, travelling across is not a possibility. “We cannot even use telephones or mobile phones because services have not been functional since eight days now,” he said. “No officials have tried to resolve the issue so far.”

With no other recourse, people have started to fell trees in large numbers as they need the wood to keep warm and light up their homes when it’s dark, explained Shakeel, a resident of Palam.

“When we complained [about the power situation], even Wapda officials told us to cut down forests for firewood,” claimed Shakeel.

Wapda Squadron Duty Officer for the three UCs, Kamran, confirmed the power supply was discontinued on February 2 after heavy snowfall. However, the duty officer claimed they have been unable to locate the fault.

“We do realise people are suffering but how can we fight nature? We don’t have facilities to work in areas with seven feet of snow,” he said, adding they will restore power as soon as they locate the fault.

Residents threatened large-scale protests against the provincial government and Wapda if electricity is not restored within the next
two days.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2014.