SHANGLA: Speakers at a jirga held here on Saturday demanded of the federal and provincial governments to implement the agreement made with the affected people of under-construction 11.8 megawatt Karora hydropower project eight years ago.

The jirga was called by the committee of the affected people of Karora.

Former MPAs Shaukat Yousafzai, Mohammad Rashad Khan, Nawaz Mahmood Khan of PTI, Mutawakel Khan of ANP, Mohammad Tayyab of JUI-F and others were in attendance.

The participants alleged the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (Pedo) was not adhering to the agreement inked with the people of the three union councils of Karora.

Nisar Ahmad, a participant, said Pedo was not willing to provide electricity to locals at subsidised rates as per the agreement. He regretted the promised uplift schemes, including water supply, were also not executed.

He recalled that at the time of the agreement, Wapda and Pedo had promised to provide the locals with electricity at Rs3.5 per unit, but the authority was now insisting that the people must pay the rates prevailing across the country.

Mohammad Tayyab, a former tehsil nazim, regretted the delay in completion of the hydel power project despite the fact that the country was facing energy crisis and had to use costly fuels to make power. He said Pedo had signed an 11-point agreement with the people of Kuz Kana, Ranyal and Opal union councils eight years ago.

ANP leader Mutawakel Khan said earlier people produced electricity from their own mini-power stations set up on streams and rivers, but after construction work on the power project started they were deprived of the facility.

He said people won’t let anyone to use their resources and deprive them of their constitutional rights.

PTI leader Nawaz Mahmood claimed Pedo had committed to providing royalty, subsidised electricity, launching uplift schemes and providing jobs to locals.

He claimed to have got the funds approved for water supply schemes and laying electricity transmission lines in the three union councils during the last PTI government. He claimed the Pesco would start work on the supply lines soon.

Mr Mahmood said Wapda had also implemented an agreement with the people of Kohistan, paying off their electricity bills of past many years to Pesco, but was dragging its feet on the promises made with the people of Karora.

The jirga participants warned of halting the work on the power project if the government didn’t meet their demands.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023