PESHAWAR: All Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Workers Union has expressed concern over frequent fatal incidents involving the line staff in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and urged the authorities to fill the vacant posts in Pesco to make for the shortage of staff.

A Pesco spokesman Gohar Ali Gohar on Saturday said several linemen had lost their lives and over 30 sustained wounds during the past few years, but the government was yet to fill the posts falling vacant in the wake.

He said a team of the union led by provincial chairman Haji Mohammad Iqbal had recently visited various circles, including Swat, where the field staff had apprised them of the problems they were facing due to shortage of staff.

The length of transmission lines and number of consumers, he said was fast increasing and the existing staff had to sustain the entire burden round the clock. He said the line staff was offering sacrifices of their lives to serve consumers in all weathers.

Referring to complaints submitted by the workers union leaders to the Wapda authorities, Mr Gohar pointed out that in most rural areas the Pesco complaint offices were closed to the suffering of consumers.

The Pesco spokesman said thousands of seats of different categories had long by lying vacant in the company due to death and retirement of employees, but their siblings were yet to be inducted. He said the workers union had been left with only option to launch a protest campaign for core issues to be resolved.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2018