GUJRANWALA, July 5: The water shortage in Mangla Dam is the real cause of loadshedding for it is the main source of power feeding to the Gepco.

Gepco chief executive Brig Saifullah Khalid said this while speaking at the local chamber of commerce and industries here on Wednesday.

He claimed that the government and Wapda were fully aware of the present power crisis and were taking short and long term measures to resolve the issue.

The problem, he said, was occurring because of increasing number of split units and air-conditioners and installation of tubewells in large number.

The Gepco official pointed out that the water flow from Mangla was 50,000 cusecs feet per day last year which was reduced to only 1,800 cusec feet during the current year.

He said the Punjab government had planned to provide the land for two new grid stations that would start functioning within next eight to 10 months.

Earlier, GCCI president Akhlaq Ahmad Butt and others welcomed the Gepco chief executive and apprised him of their problems.

EXECUTION: Another convicted of killing five councillors of Dhaunkel, Wazirabad, was hanged in jail here on Wednesday.

Reports said that convict Ghulam Abbas of Sheikhupura had killed five councillors with the help of his accomplices over a murder enmity in 1998. A local court had handed him down the death sentence.

The Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court had upheld the lower court’s decision while the president had also rejected his clemency appeal. The court had issued his death warrant for July 5.

While his heirs had a last meeting with him on jail premises on Tuesday. The jail authority handed over the body to his heirs who took it to Sheikhupura the same day.

At least three condemned prisoners, including two brothers, had already been executed on Tuesday last in the jail for killing five people over the murder enmity at Rahwali Chowk.