BAJAUR: Tribal elders, political leaders and traders here on Friday set conditions for installation of electricity meters, demanding special subsidy in bills and smooth power supply.

Speaking during an open court on the issue of electricity held at the Jirga Hall in Civil Colony, Khar, they complained about the poor situation of power supply in the region.

Senior officials of the administration and Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco), including its executive engineer Walayat Khan, attended the session.

Additional deputy commissioner Zohaib Hayat said the session was called to address the electricity issue in the district.

Demand subsidy, smooth supply of electricity

Khar tehsil council chairman Haji Said Badshah, Bajaur Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Haji Lali Shah and others said the power supply situation was extremely poor in the entire district, especially in rural areas.

They said that people of the district expected that smooth power supply would be ensured after the establishment of 132KV grid station in the region, but no improvement was seen in this regard.

They claimed that most parts of the district, including Khar and other urban areas, remained without electricity for five days a week.

The speakers also criticised the Tesco local officials for disconnecting power supply in several bazaars of the district several weeks ago to force the traders to install meters in their shops.

They said the people would install meters after the Tesco agreed to fix special subsidised power charges for the tribal districts.

The Tesco officials said the company had decided in principle to install meters across tribal districts to end the trend of using electricity free of charges. However, they said all the stakeholders would be taken into confidence on this policy.

They promised to ensure smooth supply of electricity in the district during Ramazan.

OFFICE-BEARERS ELECTED: Javid Shah advocate was elected as president and Ikram Durrani advocate general secretary of Bajaur District Bar Association here on Friday.

The election was held in the district judicial complex, according to a statement.

Other office-bearers included Nisar Ahmad advocate senior vice-president, Mohammad Noor advocate finance secretary and Abdul Hameed advocate joint secretary.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2022