MINGORA: The entire Kalam valley echoed with shouts of joys after the 1.2megawatts hydro power station in Ashuran area was inaugurated by European Union Ambassador Jean Francois Cautain on Wednesday.

Setting of the hydro power station is the first ever big project, executed by a non-governmental organisation, Sarhad Rural Support Programme, in the district with the financial support of European Union.

Local elders and residents of Kalam valley participated in the inaugural ceremony while Provincial Minister for Tourism Mehmood Khan, local MPA Syed Jafar Shah, district nazim Mohammad Ali Shah, tehsil nazim Habibullah Saqib, Additional Secretary Ghazanfar Ali, Rural Support Network chairman Shoaib Sultan Khan, SRSP chief executive officer Masoodul Mulk were present on the occasion.

Mr Cautain said on the occasion that he was really happy to be among the people of Swat. “I hope the electricity produced by the MHPs will make the lives of people, particularly women and children, comfortable.

He said that supply of electricity would promote tourism and create opportunities of small enterprises in Kalam.

He also thanked the team of SRSP for installing the huge hydro power station in Kalam.

“The hydro power will provide the residents of whole Kalam town and nearby villages with low cost electricity where there had been no active national grid since 2010. It will also provide more business and economic opportunities to the residents of Kalam,” said Masoodul Mulk.

Minister Mehmood Khan thanked the people of European Union for supporting poor communities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

MPA Syed Jafar Shah lauded the support of European Union and said that upper Swat was bestowed with a heavenly beauty but unfortunately its people were faced with multiple problems.

He hoped that both European Union and SRSP would continue to support the people of backward areas. He also assured them of his full support.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2016