February 18, 2007	Sunday	Muharram 29, 1428

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SWABI, Feb 17: The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) has failed to replace or repair transformers which were damaged during the rains, causing severe shortage of drinking water in many localities of the Swabi town.

Consumers complained on Saturday that the Pesco staff had asked them to pay for repair of the transformers, otherwise they would have to wait until the transformers were shifted to a workshop in Nowshera for repairs.

Due to the suspension of power supply, residents of Lalu Dheri, Nari Kanda, Yar Hussain, Karnal Sher Kili and Gadoon regions had been facing an acute shortage of drinking water for the last few days.

Schools in these localities were also facing water shortage as a result of which teachers had asked their students to bring water in bottles from their homes.

When contacted the consumers in the region told Dawn that that they had collected Rs 100 per family for the repairing of transformers and had handed over the collected amount to Pesco officials who had assured them that their transformer s would be repaired soon.

However, they questioned the credibility of Pesco as it was consistently sending them inflated bills. They said that Pesco officials were responsible for the entire mess as they were creating monetary problems for them.

They said that if the transformer of an affluent person or politician was burnt then it was replaced within no time. However, if it happened to be that of a common person he was ignored by the officials and harassed like anything.