GILGIT: Electricity supply to Gilgit and its suburbs from the 18MW Naltar power station was again suspended on the night between Wednesday and Thursday as a fresh landslide damaged its water channel.

The power supply from the power station was restored only last week after remaining suspended for over one month owing to damage of the water channel.

Meanwhile, residents of Skardu took to the streets against prolonged electricity loadshedding the other day, warning of dire consequences if the Gilgit-Baltistan water and power department and Wapda failed to restore electricity supply to the region during Ramazan.

The protesters, including activists of Pakistan Peoples Party, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and civil society, gathered at the Yadgar Chowk and chanted slogans against the government.

The protesters said the residents had endured prolong electricity shortfall in the whole winter in the hope that the situation would be improved in summer because of improved water flow in the channels, but to no avail.

The protesters said currently Skardu residents were being provided two or three hours electricity as power units operated by Wapada had become outdated. Speaking on the occasion, president Anjuman-i-Tajiran Skardu Ghulam Hussain and others said power outages had paralysed life in the region.

They pointed out that Skardu district currently required 12 megawatt electricity, but Wapda was generating only three megawatts. Landslide again damages Naltar power station’s channel.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2018