BAHAWALPUR: The Federal Ministry for Water and Power is expected to meet the long-standing demand of the consumers of setting up a power distribution company -- Bahawalpur Electric Power Company (Bepco) -- in January next year.

It is learnt that the ministry has already given a go-ahead to Wapda which is working on the project.

Consumers had been demanding establishment of a separate power company for the last many years to ease burden on Mepco.

During the Musharraf era, the PML-Q government could not implement it. Later, the PPP regime took up the project but the then prime minister, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, put it on hold. This disappointed the two former opposition MNAs Chaudhry Saud Majid and Baleeghur Rehman who kept assuring their electorates that the new company would be set up.

The present government has almost finalised the plan to set up the independent power company as Chaudhry Saud is on south Punjab’s coordination committee of the Punjab chief minister and Baleeghur Rehman is a federal minister.

A Mepco official at a meeting the other day hinted at work on the project. It was proposed that Bepco should comprise five districts instead of just three districts of Bahawalpur division. Besides Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahim Yar Khan, the districts of adjacent Lodhran and Vehari may be attached with Bepco.

The power consumers of Sadiqabad (Rahim Yar Khan) near Sindh border to Minchinabad (Bahawalnagar district) will be able to seek relief locally thus avoiding travel to Multan.

KILLED: A young man was shot dead and his brother injured over enmity near Pull Baghochiwala on Thursday.

The police said three people, a woman among them, opened fire on Shamsul Abbas, 19, and his brother Ansar, 25, both belonging to Baloch tribe, to settle old score. Shams died after some time.

The Baghdadul Jadid police registered a case against Nawaz Baloch group.

RAID: A team of the wildlife department on Wednesday night raided the Lahore-bound Jaffer Express at the railway station and recovered about 700 quails and 25 partridges which had been booked from Ghotki for Multan.

Wildlife Deputy Director Chaudhry Muhammad Afzal said the raid was conducted on a tip-off and a case was registered against owners Sheikh Badar and Ashiq of the railway booking parcel.

The local magistrate allowed the department to auction the quails and partridges. The department said 107 of the quails and seven partridges had expired in captivity.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2014