PESHAWAR/MANSEHRA/CHARSADDA:
In a show of solidarity with the people of his province, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Sunday vowed to lead demonstrations on July 16 if the issue of prolonged and widespread load-shedding is not resolved.
Speaking in Nowshera, the chief minister urged people to reach the Army Stadium, Peshawar on the given date and raise their voices against power outages. He claimed the provincial government could eliminate the electricity shortage if the centre handed over the control of power supply to K-P.
Meanwhile, electricity was suspended to around 30 villages in Bannu as part of Pesco’s efforts to eliminate energy theft. Bannu XEN Noorullah said the action was taken on the outskirts of the city after the authority received multiple complaints of power being stolen.
Speaking to journalists, he said the crackdown was carried out under the supervision of SDO Kaki Riaz Ali and Pesco officials were aided by heavy police contingents in Abi Zar Kalan, Kafshi Khel, Bannu City, Link Road, Surani and Dako Block.
The Pesco official said around a dozen people, allegedly involved in stealing electricity from direct lines, were arrested. SDO Riaz confirmed the arrests took place in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
However, bewildered inhabitants of Kafshi Khel claimed they showed Pesco officials proof of bill payments. Munawar Khan, who lives in the area, said residents appealed to the authorities to not suspend their power supply as all dues had been cleared. “This is too much. Pesco officials are crossing all limits. If this continues, even those who pay their bills will refuse to do so in future,” he stressed.
Salamat echoed Munawar’s views, adding that the entire village should not have to suffer the sizzling heat because of a handful of people refusing to pay their bills. He claimed Pesco cut off electricity to the village after only two house owners were caught stealing power.
SDO Riaz pointed out that one of the major problems faced by Pesco officials is that when the power supply to a single household is cut off due to non-payment, others in the vicinity provide these residents with illegal connections. He explained that in order to discourage this practice, the power utility decided to cut off supply from the transformer itself.
The official revealed some people displaced by the military operation were also caught using illegal electricity. However, no cases were filed against the IDPs and they were shifted to the police station.
Disgruntled citizens
Residents of Charsadda have threatened to launch massive protests against prolonged power outages if the issue was not resolved on an emergency basis.
MNA Maulana Syed Gohar Shah, a leader of JUI-F, said that the government was responsible for providing power to the people.
Shah warned that demonstrators would block the Charsadda Motorway if the situation remained the same.
Meanwhile, in Mansehra, enraged consumers blocked Darband Road for over two hours on Saturday.
The angry mob also injured a driver and his father who requested that their jeep be let through as they were carrying a patient.
Police said hundreds of residents of Bagna, Shergarh and Darband, headed by Nawabzada Fareed Khan, held a demonstration and blocked main Darband Road near Bajna. The demonstrators set fire to various objects and lashed out at the PML-N for failing to control the power crisis.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2014.
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