SWABI: Mardan division commissioner Yousaf Rahim and regional police officer Mohammad Salman on Tuesday ordered provision of foolproof security umbrella to the Chinese engineers working on the Fifth Extension Project of Tarbela Dam here.

The top officials issued the directives during a visit to the China Camp. District police officer Najamul Hussain, additional deputy commissioner Gohar Ali and other officials also accompanied them.

A press release issued by the district police said the commissioner and RPO reviewed security arrangements at the camp, instructing the officials concerned to take ‘extraordinary’ measures for security and safety of Chinese nationals.

They also visited the security checkposts and directed the personnel to leave no stone unturned in provision of security to the foreigners working on the dam’s extension project.

POWER OUTAGES: A rights body has called upon the local leadership of political parties to join hands to push the government for providing free electricity to the residents up to 200 units in return for sacrificing their lands for construction of Tarbela Dam and Ghazi Barotha hydropower project.

The call was made at a meeting of Da Haq Awaz presided over by its president Ihsanul Haq Bamkhelvi on Tuesday.

The participants noted with concern that despite giving their lands for the mega projects in the power sector the residents of Swabi were suffering excessive loadshedding.

Through a unanimously-adopted resolution, they demanded an end to power outages, which often forced people to take to streets.

On the occasion, Mr Bamkhelvi said the former lawmakers from the district had failed to take up the issue of power outages with the authorities concerned. He said all political forces should join hands to push for free electricity to the residents of Swabi.

Meanwhile, consumers belonging to various regions on Tuesday demanded of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company to end unscheduled and excessive power loadshedding.

The residents said both the urban and rural areas were in the grip of painful power cuts.

Mohammad Shahzad, a resident of Maneri Bala village, said neither the local government representatives nor the district administration officials were interested in resolving the loadshedding issue.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2023