Agreement inked to supply power to Upper Chitral

PESHAWAR: A meeting jointly presided over by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali and Federal Minister for Energy Khurram Dastagir on Sunday decided to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to Upper Chitral district from February 1.

The meeting took place at the Governor’s House in Peshawar, which was also attended by Chief Secretary Shahzad Bangash, Federal Energy Secretary Rasheed Mahmood, Secretary Energy and Power KP Nisar Mohammad, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) chief Arif Mahmood Sadozai, Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (Pedo) chief Engineer Mohammad Naeem, officials from the Governor’s Secretariat, Finance Department, former Member National Assembly Shahzada Iftikhar and elders from Upper Chitral.

An agreement was also signed at the meeting after detailed discussion in order to ensure the supply of electricity to the upper parts of Chitral from February 1. The meeting lasted for four hours and discussed in detail the technical and other aspects of the matter.

A committee was also formed at the meeting to sort out the payment issues between Pesco and Pedo within one month’s time.

It was decided at the meeting that Upper Chitral would be provided electricity at the same tariff rate at which power was being supplied to Lower Chitral.

The elders from Upper Chitral, who attended the meeting, thanked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali and the federal government for resolving the issue.

They said that the people of Upper Chitral had been facing this issue for the last several years but the previous provincial government of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf did not bother to address it.

Speaking at the meeting, Khurram Dastagir said that the government was working on different initiatives to overcome energy shortage in the country. The minister said the payment issues between Pesco and Pedo would be solved within one month’s time

He thanked the governor for hosting the meeting and said that Ghulam Ali was actively working to resolve the issues facing the residents of KP.

He said that the gates of the Governor’s House in Peshawar were open for the common people for which the governor deserved appreciation. The minister said that the people of Upper Chitral would start getting electricity in the next 48 hours.

Governor Ghulam Ali thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for paying heed to the resolution of the electricity issue of Upper Chitral.

He said that he would continue to play his role in addressing the problems being faced by the people of the province.