PEDO warned of mass protests against outages after seven days

BOONI: Office-bearers of Tehreek-e-Huqooq Awam on Saturday criticized officials of the power utility companies for trampling a schedule of power supply from Golen Gol and keeping Upper Chitral without electricity for over 45 days.

In a press release, Rehmat Salam, Muhammad Pervez, Salamat Khan, Mir Ayub, Sher Jang and others said that on Feb 3 the people of Upper Chitral held a huge protest in Booni and threatened to march to Golen Gol against the power outages.

However, on the assurance of MPA Hidayatur Rehman that the issue would be resolved soon the protesters dispersed peacefully.

The next day, a delegation headed by the MPA and consisting of Tehreek-e-Huqooq representatives in the presence of magistrates of lower and upper Chitral districts held talks with officials of PEDO.

The meeting at Golen Gol agreed on the equal distribution of the seven megawatt electricity generated at Golen Gol between the lower and upper Chitral and prepared a shedule.

However, even the passage of two weeks the officials of PEDO did not implement the schedule of the power distribution keeping the whole Upper Chitral in perpetual darkness.

The Tehreek leaders warned that if the PEDO officials failed to ensure the supply of the 3.5 megawatt share to Upper Chitral within a week, the locals would be left with no other option but to launch protest gatherings, shutter down strikes and a protest march to Golen Gol and a sit-in outside the power station there.

They also demanded that the regional office of PEDO should be shifted to Booni and arrangements should be made to stop wastage of water meant for the Golen Gol powerhouse.

They gave the government seven days to meet their demands otherwise the Tehreek would announce a scedule for its mass protest and shutter down strike in Upper Chitral and a long march to Golen Gol.