227 Shangla houses to get power as project inaugurated

BISHAM: Two micro hydel power projects (MHPs) having the capacity of generating 50 kilowatts power have been inaugurated in Shangla district.
The projects were built in Bar Killay Union Council and Kuz Killay Union Council in Alpuri. Both the projects had the capacity to produce 25KW power each.
The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) had executed the projects under the European Union (EU) funded Peace programme.
Commissioner Malakand Division Syed Zaheerul Islam inaugurated the projects. District Nazim Niaz Ahmad Khan and others were also present on the occasion. A representative of SRSP briefed the guests about the projects.
He said the important task for SRSP and community organisations was to monitor and look after the maintenance and sustainability of the MHPs.
The representative said the 25 KW MHP (Bar Killay) was completed with a total cost of Rs2,447,437 out of which the donors provided Rs2,217,003 while community contributed Rs230,431. He said the project would provide power to 277 houses.
He said Kuz Killay MHP was completed with the cost of Rs2,969,069, adding the donors contributed Rs2,632,319 while the local community Rs336,751. He said this project would provide power to 287 houses.
Aurangzeb Khalil (ADEO P&D), who is also president of LSO, thanked he SRSP and the EU for building the projects.
He said the projects meant a lot to the locals and would provide uninterrupted power to nearly 500 houses.
Speaking on the occasion, the commissioner said that Shangla had a lot of potential for producing cheap hydel power and the government needed to focus on utilising these resources.