KOHAT: The Peshawar Electric Supply Company has started over 15-hour daily loadshedding in urban and rural areas here in order to cover line losses and hide power theft, according to residents and sources.

An official of the Rawalpindi Road grid station told this correspondent on condition of anonymity on Friday that power supply was being suspended by them for only three hours daily according to the new schedule, but some ‘corrupt officials’ cut off the line between the grid and the consumers at a ‘secret place’.

He said that it was done so that the meters installed at each feeder should stop running and in this way the power theft was covered which the consumers made with the connivance of meter readers.

He said that kunda system was still rampant in the urban and rural areas. He disclosed that the ‘corrupt’ officials cut off the supply at a ‘secret place’ though the supply continued from the grid station.

Sources said that some officials were still resisting installation of digital meters, which were introduced a decade ago to stop stealing of electricity.

The consumers have demanded of the Pesco board of directors chairman Malik Asad to take notice of the illegal loadshedding in Kohat.

FAREWELL FOR DPO: Outgoing district police officer Sohaib Ashraf has termed change of the exploitation culture and putting hand on the powerful under the law to help poor victims in the society a biggest success of the police force.

Addressing a ceremony at the police lines on Friday, he stressed that it was the responsibility of the police to control law and order and protect the poor people from victimisation by the powerful.

The function was attended by CTD SP Ehsanullah Khan, SP investigation Khair Sanaullah and other officials. He said that the officers should respect the constables who were the backbone of police force.

Mr Ashraf was earlier given a farewell party after his transfer to Swabi district and rich tributes were paid to him for making the Kohat police more professional.

Published in Dawn November 26th, 2016