Inflated power bills

SWABI, Feb 23: Jamaat-i-Islami workers on Thursday blocked the Chota Lahor-Yar Hussain road to protest the inflated electricity bills.

The JI workers led by district naib amir Mehmoodul Hassan first gathered in the party office at Yar Hussain and then marched to the main bazaar, chanting slogans against the Pesco staff and the provincial government. They alleged the ANP had failed to protect people from the unjust electricity bills. They blocked the road for two hours.

Addressing the protesting people Mr Hassan said on one hand people faced unscheduled prolonged loadshedding while on the other they received inflated bills. He said Pesco officials at district headquarters and elsewhere usually remained absent from their offices much to the disappointment of the visiting consumers.

Later, at the Pesco officials’ assurance that the extra-charges would be removed from the bills, the protesters dispersed peacefully.—Correspondent

Special people’s welfare

MANSEHRA, Feb 23: An international non-governmental organisation has constituted an organisation ‘Friends of Special People’ to address core issues of people with disabilities in Mansehra. In this connection a meeting of representatives of NGOs, Helping Hand International and Saibaan Development Organisation, civil society and trader’s body was held here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion managing director of the comprehensive physical rehabilitation center of the Helping Hands, Mohammad Ilyas Syed, managing director Saibaan Sahibzada Jawad Alfazi, Tahir Khan Swati and others said the ‘Friends of People’ would provide PWDs with free of cost medical services, artificial limbs and job opportunities in government and private departments.

The meeting unanimously elected Sher Afzal Khan as president, Mohammad Tahir Swati general secretary and Mohammad Naeem as treasure of the body.—Correspondent

Peace in South Waziristan

TANK, Feb 23: Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Khalid Rabani said on Thursday people of South Waziristan Agency had played unprecedented role in eliminating extremists from the area and establishing peace on their soil.

Addressing trainees at the De-radicalisation Emancipation Programme’s (Drep) training centre here, Gen Rabani said Islam taught its followers to live in peace and brotherhood. Operation Commander of South Waziristan Maj-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa and in-charge of the training centre Brigadier Sabir Ali were also present.

Gen Rabani distributed certificates and instruments of different technical professions among the trainees on completing their training.  He said army was actively playing its role for the uplift of South Waziristan Agency and many developmental projects of communication, health and education were completed in the agency to boost the lifestyle of tribesmen.—Correspondent

Rehabilitation centre

PESHAWAR, Feb 23: In order to help the physically challenged people in rehabilitation process a civil society organisation will establish a well-equipped rehabilitation centre in Mansehra.

This was disclosed by Ilyas Syed, managing director of Helping Hand Comprehensive Physical Rehabilitation, while speaking at a gathering at physical rehabilitation centre Mansehra on Thursday, according to a press release issued in Peshawar. Mr Syed said that the center would be established at Data Mor where all the facilities would be available for the patients, including residential facilities. He expressed the hope that the centre would be established this year.—Bureau Report

Nadra workers hold demo

PESHAWAR, Feb 23: The Nadra employees on Thursday held a protest demonstration at Sher Shah Suri Road against the arrest of their colleagues in Karachi and criticised the government for using delaying tactics to regularise their services. Nadra contract employees union said there was no truth in the news in which the Nadra administration had claimed successful dialogue with the protesting employees.

Holding banners and placards the protesters chanted slogans against the government. Mohammad Saleem, president of the union’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter said the workers’ country-wide protest rallies would continue and that they had no intention to hold negotiations with the management.  He said the management had published false news in sections of media.—Bureau Report

Pesco to recover surcharge

PESHAWAR, Feb 23: The Pesco has started recovering arrears on account of fuel adjustment surcharge from consumers in line with a Nepra decision.

A Pesco spokesman said the Nepra had decided last month a case in favour of the power company allowing it to recover the fuel adjustment surcharge from the consumers, according to a press release issued on Thursday. The case was referred to Nepra by the Peshawar High Court. It mentioned that the PHC had stayed the recovery of the surcharge in 2011 while hearing a petition from electricity consumers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Later, the court referred the case to Nepra, according to the Pesco spokesman.

“Nepra decided the case last month and upheld the recovery of fuel adjustment surcharge,” said the spokesman, adding “Pesco has now added the arrears, recoverable from Feb 2011 to July 2011, to consumers’ bills.”—Bureau Report

Wheelchairs distributed

PESHAWAR, Feb 23: The Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (Raha) programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distributed wheelchairs to persons with disabilities in the targeted areas.  The distribution functions were held in union councils of Khazana Peshawar, Dagbehsud and Mera Akora Khattak, Nowshera on Thursday.

The Raha programme has initiated this project with Rs457,000 provided by the European Union. It identified the most vulnerable disables through Raha community organisations in the targeted union councils in Peshawar, Nowshera, Haripur and Swabi districts, according to a press release.

The Raha national project director said wheelchairs would somehow alleviate the suffering of the disabled persons. He said such people had the potential to undertake all tasks in life if they were offered the facilities to do so.—Bureau Report