GUJAR KHAN: Power supply to the city remained suspended for at least 16 hours when a windstorm followed by rain hit areas of Gujar Khan and Jhelum on Tuesday night.

Electricity went off at about 7:15pm on Tuesday night and could only be restored in some areas of Gujar Khan, Mankiala, Sohawa by 11am on Wednesday.

However, a number of areas like Jand Mehlu, Ladhar and many areas of Pind Dadan Khan sub division had no electricity even after 24 hours.

According to Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) sources, the uprooted electricity poles led to the breakdown, which dampened the Eid spirit of the people.

In areas where power had not been restored, there were many cases where the meat of sacrificial animals went stale.

On the other hand, almost all supervisory staff and officers of Iesco, who were on Eid duty, were not available at their respective stations.

Even the mobile phones of the divisional manager and executive engineer, Iesco, remained switched off.

Lesco’s chief executive officer Malik Mohammad Yousaf was the only officer who attended to the telephone calls of the power consumers and mediapersons.

Mr Yousaf said that the windstorm had inflicted huge damage to the power supplylines in various areas of the town.

He said he visited Gujar Khan grid station to ensure that repair work was being undertaken.

Talking to Dawn the officer regretted to the consumers for the inconvenience they faced due to the suspension.

He assured the consumers that power supply would be restored at the earliest as Iesco workers were busy repairing the lines.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2014