Reshun protest ended on DC's assurance

RESHUN, Jan 21: Deputy Commissioner Chitral Muhamamd Shaib Jadoon here on Tuesday assured the protesting people of Upper Chitral that action will be taken against officials posted at the Reshun powerhouse if corruption charges against them were proved. He was addressing the protesting people who had reached here from Booni on Monday and had staged a sit-in at Ramdas Chowk demanding immediate transfer of the resident engineer, line superintendent and a clerk of the powerhouse, accusing them of selling electricity to private companies and depriving the domestic consumers of the facility of power supply. The deputy commissioner announced that the accused officials would be transferred with immediate effect pending an inquiry against them. On his assurance, the protesters ended their sit-in and went to their homes. The leaders of the protesters informed the deputy commissioner that the domestic consumers were provided only five hours electricity daily as the officials were selling power to private companies and pocket the money. They said the powerhouse had been set up as a compensation for the area people’s sacrifice to eliminate the production of Charas and opium which used to be their main cash crops. They said that the resident engineer and his other staff were committing robbery on their right and had deprived them of their right to electricity supply. The protesters also complained that they had been protesting for the also over six months demanding action against corrupt departments but the district administration never bothered to even to listen to them. The DC assured them that action would be taken against all those being accused of corrupt practices.]]>