Praying for power: Nandipur Power Project a big fraud on people, says PTI

Hundreds of PTI workers marched to the project site and staged a demonstration.

LAHORE:

“The government has made a fool of people by signing a fake memorandum of understanding on the Nandipur Power Project,” Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rashid said at a protest demonstration in front of the power project building on Sunday. 

The government’s latest strategy to change power transmission lines there is like throwing chilies in people’s eyes, he said. “The cost of the project announced by the government was Rs220 million when in reality, Rs570 million was spent...the rest was pocketed by the corrupt rulers,” Rashid said.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf held a protest demonstration against alleged corruption in the Nandipur Power project. The protesters walked towards the project site. They stopped at Shahadra, Muridke, Kamoke, Sadhoke and Gujranwala where they were joined by other PTI workers. Members of the PTI in the provincial assembly and district administration including Sadia Suhail, Sibtain Khan, Ahmed Khan Bhacchar, Malik Waheed Dogar, Media Advisor Shanila Roaat, MPA Rana Akhtar Hussain, PTI Nandipur district president Rana Naeemur Rehman and his wife MPA Naheed Naeem participated in the protest.

PTI workers chanted slogans: “Imran Khan for prime minister”, “Who will save Pakistan, Imran Khan, Imran Khan” and “Down with show-baz Sharif”. They said the Nandipur Power Project was the biggest fraud committed by the government.

Hundreds of party workers on motorcycles flanked the rally and carried placards with pictures of Imran Khan.

After the rally arrived at Nandipur, the party workers staged a dharna and chanted slogans against the prevalent unscheduled load-shedding. They also protested against the price hike of essential items during Ramazan.

Several members of the civil society also joined the protest. The participants protested against the June 17 police operation in Model Town. They lamented load-shedding and the problems that arose with it. The protesters gathered in front of the Nandipur Power Project site in blistering heat and chanted slogans.

Mehmoodur Rashid said that the local administration had blocked roads and placed oil tankers on the routes leading to the Nandipur project site.  “But our brave PTI workers proved them wrong...thousands joined the protest demonstration.” He said thousands of industrial units in Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot and Lahore had been shut down due to load-shedding. This had rendered millions of workers jobless, Rashid said.  He said the rulers must now leave the corridors of power and give someone else a chance to serve the people.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2014.