PESHAWAR, Sept 17: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) restored electricity to Pishtakhara locality on Tuesday morning, after a police-protesters shootout over power disruption left a local Nazim dead and 11 others wounded.

“There  has been no loadshedding since morning and  even  no fluctuation in the power supply today,” a Pishtakhara resident, Tawab told Dawn.

“Probably the Wapda authorities wanted the sacrifice of our Nazim for the power restoration,” he remarked. Mr Tawab, who lives in front of the police station, said: “We are paying the power bills regularly and we have the right of uninterrupted power supply, which was denied by the Wapda authorities.”

He alleged that the residents had several times lodged complains with the SDO concerned about the frequent power shutdowns, but he turned a deaf ear to all their requests and continued the unscheduled loadshedding in the area for the last two months.

Another resident, Gul Rehman, blamed the police for initiating fire on peaceful protest rally participants. He said the deceased Nazim, Fayyaz Khalil, was busy in negotiation with the senior police officials when all of a sudden the police opened fire.

Meanwhile, a tense calm prevailed in Pishtakhara locality as Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) with paramilitary troops were patrolling on main Bara Road. The Frontier Corps contingents have taken control of the Pishtakhara police station, which have set up bunkers along the roadside at several locations to avert any untoward incident.

Pesco claim: Chief executive of the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco), Khalid Khan, has said power supply to the Pishtakhara area is suspended as part of ‘load management’ measures to control increasing line losses being constantly suffered in the area.

The area has no power since Monday after the killing of union council Nazim.

Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, Brig Khalid said the Pesco was not responsible for the Monday’s incident.

“The utility has nothing to do with the law and order situation. It is the responsibility of the law-enforcement agencies,” said the Pesco chief.

Conceding that electricity supply to the Pishtakhara area was suspended regularly, Pesco chief said: “We have a justification for it.”

Load management had been practised in areas where line losses were high in line with a joint policy of the federal and provincial governments.

“There is clear cut policy that consumers not paying electricity charges would get their power supply disconnected,” the Pesco chief said.

According to him, Pesco was undergoing financial losses of Rs 120 million every month in the area falling under the jurisdiction of the Landi Arbab sub-division which also includes Pishtakhara area.

He claimed that of that amount, Rs 40 million were being suffered only in the Pishtakhara area where 80 per cent of the electricity consumers had illegally taken direct connections (through hooks) from the electricity polls. Only 20 per cent of the consumers in that area had installed electricity meters and the rest were paying nothing against the power they use.

Replying to newsmen’s questions at the press conference, the Pesco chief said suspension of power might well be one of the reasons for the Monday’s gory incident. “It cannot be regarded as the sole reason,” he stressed, adding that electricity supply to the area was usually suspended for two to four hours every day in an effort to control financial losses to the utility.

“Load management is a routine matter and it is justified,” Pesco chief said. “No body reacted two days back when power supply to the same area remained suspended as part of load management measures for eight hours,” the Pesco chief claimed.

He added that in the Monday’s incident, demonstrators resorted to violence.

“Protesters headed towards the police station instead of going to the Wapda installation which is situated at a nearby place,” the Pesco chief said. He said consumers in the Pishtakhara area had been given incentives in the recent past to make them pay the monthly electricity bills. They had been told to pay Rs 400 pay every month  apart from Rs  100  monthly instillment to clear their arrears.

“No body responded to the scheme leaving the Pesco with no option but to go for load management,” he said.

According to him, an assistant lines-man was killed in the Pishtakhara area where he had gone to do the repair works upon receiving a complaint.

“An FIR was lodged, but nothing has been done in that case following which we have stopped sending staff there in the night,” said Brig Khalid.