Shangla residents want power supply from project

BISHAM: The Shangla Qaumi Jirga on Monday threatened to stage protest if electricity was not provided to the district from the Karora hydropower project within 15 days.

The demand was made at a jirga attended by the local elders and politicians. Nawaz Mahmood Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Mohammad Rishad of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Azam Khan of Awami National Party, Emmad Khan of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Dr Sajjad Khan of Qaumi Watan Party and others attended the jirga.

They recalled that the then provincial government had reached an 11-point agreement with the local population in 2015 to provide electricity to Shangla from 11.8 megawatts Karora hydropower project.

However, they lamented that the government had not implemented the agreement. The elders said that six years had passed since the signing of the agreement, but it was yet to be implemented. They said the land in the area had become barren due to the power project and the local people were compelled to move to other places.

The jirga also decided to approach the provincial government and take up the issue with the chief minister. However, they warned that they would be left with the only option to stage a series of protests if the government did not heed their genuine demand.