KHYBER: Power supply to entire Landi Kotal and parts of Jamrud was suspended when strong winds brought down three power pylons in the mountainous Shagai area on Tuesday night.

Tribal Areas Electric Supply Company chief engineer Jamshed Ali along with executive engineer Irshad Khan paid a visit to the affected area, and later told reporters that two more power pylons were also partially damaged.

They said some identified tribesmen had stolen nuts and bolts from five towers, and strong winds brought down three of them, suspending power supply to entire Landi Kotal, including Torkham, and parts of Jamrud.

They said similar incidents had occurred in the past when some scrupulous elements had stolen nuts and bolts of these power pylons, which were erected atop mountains.

Tesco chief engineer Jamshed Ali said repair of the three damaged pylons had been started on emergency basis, but it would take 10 to 15 days to restore electricity supply.

The power suspension caused water shortage in Landi Kotal as almost all tubewells and wells became dysfunctional.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2022