DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain has expressed serious concern over prolonged and unscheduled power outages in the province, saying that extended electricity cuts amid severe heat had made life unbearable for people.
In a statement issued on Monday, he said rural areas were experiencing up to 22 hours of loadshedding, while several hours of unannounced outages were also being reported in urban areas. He said low voltage had further aggravated the situation.
Mr Hussain said prolonged outages had disrupted the supply of drinking water in several areas, while students were also being forced to sit in classrooms without electricity amid extreme heat.
He said depriving people of electricity despite charging them hefty bills was “blatant injustice”. He pointed out that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was one of the country’s major producers of cheap hydel power, yet its people remained deprived of the benefit.
The ANP leader said the federal government owed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa its net hydel profit, but neither the federal government appeared serious about paying the province its due share nor the provincial government seemed committed to securing its rights.
He said the people were suffering from extreme heat, expensive electricity, prolonged loadshedding and inflation, while the federal and provincial governments were busy shifting responsibility for the situation onto each other.
Mr Hussain demanded an immediate end to prolonged loadshedding and low voltage in the province and called for payment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s net hydel profit and all other constitutional and financial rights.
He also urged the authorities to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to consumers across the province.
