By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: MNA from Chitral Shahzada Iftikharuddin has demanded of the chief minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to take stern notice of the sluggish response of Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO) to execute official formality to get electricity from PESCO for its 16000 consumers in upper Chitral.
Talking to the local media here on Wednesday, the law maker from Chitral expressed his dismay over the attitude of PEDO high-ups towards its consumers in upper Chitral who are without electricity for the last three years after its Reshun hydro power station was washed away by flood.
“Despite the directions from the chief minister two weeks ago and assurance from the PEDO officers including secretary to the government for Energy and Power, the issue remains unsolved leading to commotion and restlessness in the area where protest meetings have become the order of the day.
The chief secretary had also assured the delegation of elected representatives including its members of national and provincial assembly and the district nazim a day ago that the formality will be fulfilled by PEDO within a day but its officers did nothing on Wednesday on one pretext or the other”, he said.
The infuriated Shahzada Iftikhar said that all things had been settled in the meeting with the chief secretary in the presence of PEDO officers and as per procedure, the PEDO had to fill only a profroma requesting PESCO to energize its transmission line from its Chitral national grid but PEDO chief presented a lame excuse on a fictitious technical ground.
He said that on the part of PESCO things were quite ready in its grid station at Juti Lusht near Chitral town and the power evacuation can be started by simply connecting the conductor with the transmission line of PEDO.
“I have time and again stressed on the PEDO officers to only fill in the proforma of PESCO and leave the other matter on me to electrify the upper Chitral but they are employing delaying tactics”, he said.
He said that law and order situation is going from bad to worst in upper Chitral due to the delay in the electrification process of their area and the enraged people of the area are threatening of long march towards the Golen Gol hydro power station and interestingly, the very protest rallies are organized by PTI and Jamaat-e-Islami workers, the two allies in the provincial government.
When the chief planning officer of PEDO Zainullah was contacted to know his version on shrinking from filing in the form of PESCO, he said that filling of form was not the only reason of the delay but there were technical reasons as well which needed to be addressed at first.
He said that there were instances in Drosh, Mardan and many other places where PESCO is getting electricity from PEDO power stations and owed a large sum of the tune of Rs. 2.5 billion and we had provided them with electricity without undergoing any formality.
“We understand that entering into written agreement between the two organizations is secondary thing but the electrification of the area is primary one for which we should not waste time”, he said.
Meanwhile a pubic protest held in Charun Mastuj against PEDO Official. They speakers demanded of the KP government to take serious notice of PEDO slow response to get electricity from PESCO. They have threatened to protest and long-march to Chitral if there demand not full fill before the Prime minister visit to Chitral .
