Chitral faces 8 days of power suspension

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - Chitral—Supply of electricity has been suspended for the last eight days due to heavy snowfall at Lawari Top because poles and cables of main transmission line have been damaged. On the other hand Peshawar Electricity Supply Company, Chitral, staff is resorting to 48 hours load shedding from local hydro power station at Singor Seenlasht. Sources told this scribe that there was no progress from grid Station Operation staff for maintenance and restoring of power supply hence it was learned that Deputy Commissioner, Chitral, Rahmatullah Wazir, offered to provide them four-wheel vehicle and border police staff for repairing and restoring main transmission line.
Consumers in Chitral have complained that there are 28 staff at Pesco Chital whose duty is to maintain supply line from Bakarabad to Seenlasht, only 15 kilometres area but they fail to perform their duty honestly and due to their dishonesty with work consumers are facing long darkness. A social worker on condition of anonymity revealed that although there are 28 staff but only 8 persons perform their duty and most of them remain absent. He said that if Pesco line operation staff performs their duty honestly they can supply electricity to each area for 4 hours from local power house but they do nothing.

Sources told that Pesco staff remove links of different transformers to disconnect power supply to areas concerned and taking rest for long times at their houses using free electricity. They connectthese links after 48 hours illegally. Social and political circles of Chitral have demanded highups of WAPDA, Secretary Water and Power, Chairman Wapda and Chief Executive Pesco for taking action against Pesco Chitral staff for not performing their duty honestly. They said that seven linemen can perform duty for four hours and can easily provide power supply.