SWABI: A fault in the Right Bank Canal grid station suspended electric supply to many areas of Swabi district from Saturday night till Sunday. The residents said they passed through a sleepless night.

Javid Khan, a resident of Maneri Bala, and Asim Khan of Panjpir village said mosquitoes kept biting them, especially the elderly and children, the whole night due to power blackout.

An employee at the grid station said double circuit of 132KV line had been broken, suspending electric supply to various regions. “Officials at the grid station were forced to start forced load-shedding because the entire power load was put on other 132KV circuit,” said another employee on condition of anonymity.

The affected areas were Maneri, Karnal Sher Khan Kallay, Salim Khan, Gadoon Amazai, some colonies of Tarbela Dam, and some localities of Topi, Swabi and Razaar tehsils.

“The forced outage was conducted by the grid station staff and not by Peshawar Electric Supply Company,” said a Pesco official. Officials at the grid station said a technical team arrived at the grid on Sunday morning, removed the fault and restored the power supply.

KILLED: A man was killed and two others, including a child, were injured when rival groups traded fire in Sing Bhatti village on Sunday, police and rescue officials said.

A Rescue 1122 official said two emergency medical teams along with as many ambulances reached the spot, provided first aid to all the seriously injured people and shifted them to Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in critical condition.

Later, one of the injured, identified as Munsif Khan, succumbed to injuries. The two injured were identified as Javid Khan, 30, and minor Saad Khan, who is the son of the deceased.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2024