July 18, 2002	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1423

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LANDI KOTAL, July 17: Negotiations between the Wapda authorities and Bara residents about the installation of domestic meters failed to reach any decision.

Pesco chairman Brigadier Khalid had a meeting with the elders of the Bara tehsil on Tuesday to convince them to accept the installation of electricity meters in their houses. But the elders, headed by former Khyber Agency MNA Malik Waris Khan, warned the Pesco chief that people would launch an agitation campaign against the government if the meters were installed at their residences forcibly.

The elders informed the wapda authorities that the NWFP government was unlawfully getting the royalty of the Warsak dam, which was the right of the Khyber Agency.

They alleged that millions of dollars sent by donors for eradication of poppy crop and development of the area had been embezzled by the corrupt officials.

They demanded of the authorities to first investigate these matters and then they would agree to hold talks on the installation of meters.

The wapda representatives were told that the tribal people had purchased transformers, poles, and electricity wires from wapda. Even then, they said, they were being threatened with disconnection.