CHITRAL, May 31 (TNS): Lawyers, members of District Bar Association and representatives of all parties held a protest against prolonged electricity load shedding during the holy month of Ramadan.
They held a rally started from PIA square and ended at Ataleeq Bridge which converted into a public meeting. The public cum protest meeting was held under the chair of President District Bar Association, Khurshid Hussain Mughal.
The protesters were holding banners inscribed with slogans against WAPDA and Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (PESCO) for observing five hours load shedding despite generating 36-megawatt electricity from Golain powerhouse.
According to concerned officials, Wapda was forced to observe load shedding due to technical faults and losses on account of obsolete transmission lines.
In this connection, when Project Director of Golain Powerhouse Javed Afridi was contacted he revealed that their powerhouse was not shut down for a second and generating 35 megawatts continuously.
He said that PESCO to put more load on the line because it has 8-megawatt extra power and due to no consumption this extra electricity was wasting useless.
PESCO Sub-divisional officer, Fazal Munir said they have neither permitted nor issued any direction for load shedding by grid station’s staff. Lawyers tried to contact Zaheeruddin In-charge of Grid Station Jutilasht Chitral but he has not attended a phone call. They said GSO officers have appointed a non-technical person as head of Grid station who telling a lie that he is directing by Peshawar Distribution Centre (PDC) for continuing load shedding for 5 hours a day.
The speakers said since the district had sufficient and surplus electricity, the PESCO had no justification to observe prolonged load shedding in the area. They gave a three-day deadline to PESCO and GSO staff to stop illegal load shedding, otherwise, protest would be extended.
