BATTAGRAM: The Battagram Bazaar has been without electricity supply for the last several days due to a faulty transformer.

Talking to reporters here, traders said the continued power suspension had affected their businesses.

“The Peshawar Electric Supply Company’s officials are not serious in restoring power supply to the bazaar by repairing the faulty transformer,” Anwar Khan, a mobile shop owner, deplored.

The traders also criticised the political leaders and local lawmakers for not taking interest in repair of the faulty transformer.

Trader Ashraf Khan said the shopkeepers had collected money to shift the faulty transformer to the Pesco workshop after the relevant officials failed to do so.

He said the traders had also paid the repair cost of the transformer.

Samiullah, a teashop owner, said repairing the damaged transformer was the responsibility of Pesco authorities.

Trader Ghani Rehman said the faulty transformer was not likely to be repaired in the next two to three days.

Shopkeeper Saleh Mohammad said Pesco officials had told them that the transformer developed fault due to overload.

He said the authorities should install anther transformer for the bazaar to distribute the load.

Luqman Khan, a printing press owner, said the region was already sustaining prolonged power cuts.

He said their businesses had suffered a lot because of excessive power loadshedding and breakdowns caused by routine faults in the transmission lines.

Meanwhile, sources in Pesco told Dawn that power supply to the bazaar would remain suspended as the damaged transformer, which was shifted to a repair centre, was yet to be repaired. They said lack of funds, unavailability of spare parts and lack of interest by Pesco officials was delaying the transformer’s repair.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2021