By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The people of Mastuj tehsil forming 21 thousand consumers of electricity have warned the government of violent protests on unprecedented scale if electricity was not provided to them from Golen Gol hydro power project who were living without electricity for the last three years after the Reshun power house was lost to flash floods.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, MPA from Mastuj Syed Sardar Hussain Shah, tehsil Nazim Mastuj Maulana Muhammad Yousuf, members of district council Maulana Javed, Sher Aziz Baig, Qazi Saifuddin and others said that the provincial government did no alternative arrangement to provide electricity to the affected consumers after the Reshun powerhouse of PEDO was washed away in 2015.
They said that the affected people had pinned hopes on the under-construction Golen Gol hydro powerhouse of WAPDA which has now been completed and is likely to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 8th of January but the consumers of Mastuj tehsil are being denied of it on the ground that the Mastuj area was fed by PEDO which needed to enter into agreement with PESCO to purchase it.
“The provincial government was applying delaying tactics to make agreement with PESCO and purchase the electricity for its 21 thousand consumers of upper Chitral and this has created unrest amongst them beyond measure and it will culminate in general commotion and chaos if they were deprived of electricity after its inauguration”, they said.
They continued that infrastructure of transmission line of PEDO was already available in the area which needed to be linked to the switch yard of the powerhouse at a distance of only 60 feet and it has been declared as feasible both by the PEDO and PESCO officials last week on the occasion of the session of standing committee of NA which held at Kaghuzi.
The leaders, who represented five different political parties, said that the people of Mastuj were united in their stand for demanding electricity from Golen Gol powerhouse and it was advisable for the government in the province to haste to conclude agreement with PESCO to purchase electricity for its consumers.
