Powered up: Protest planned against prolonged outages in Swat

More than 100 broken transformers with grid station for repair

SWAT: Residents of Swat Valley are gearing up to take a massive rally out in the area against prolonged power outages. Local politicians say equipment which can help partially solve some of the electricity crisis remains unutilised by the power company.

Various political parties will be supporting the rally. While talking to The Express Tribune, former Awani National Party (ANP) minister Wajid Ali Khan said he, along with members of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, Jamaat-e-Islami, Qaumi Watan Party, Pakistan Peoples Party Swat chapter, decided to launch a massive protest against power outages in Ramazan.



“Pesco is like an unleashed animal and nobody knows how to tame it. They are [now] going too far,” he said, claiming Swat is the only district where electricity theft is minimal and Pesco is getting complete recovery, yet Swat’s people are suffering.

PPP Swat president Advocate Shamsher Ali told The Express Tribune that no one stole electricity in Swat but the district was still treated like an area with heavy line losses. “The political leadership of the province had promised to provide uninterrupted power supply to areas where there is full recovery, yet Swat remains bare on the receiving end.”

Such ignorance at the hand of the government forced people to come out on the streets, he added.

JUI-F Swat President Maulana Fathullah warned the district and provincial government of dire consequences if the issue was not dealt with at its earliest.



He added transformers of Gumbad Mera, Tahirabad, Rang Mohallah, Banrh, Gul Kada, Landi Kas, College Colony, Saidu Sharif, Rahimabad, Matta Village, Sirsenai, Khwaza Khel, Shahdara, Balogram, and Naway Kallay were not working. “These transformers were shifted to the grid station last month but grid station hasn’t looked into the issue.”

Fathullah said even though the local media highlighted the issue, more than 100 transformers were collecting rust in the area.

No official of grid station was available for comments. Police officials have also been deployed at the station to thwart any untoward incident.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2015.