AJK electricity dept slams WAPDA for power cuts

The Electricity Department of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Southern region, has asked WAPDA to put an end to the ongoing frequent and unscheduled loadshedding in various parts of AJK, particularly at Chakswari/Kotli 132KV circuits, which terminate at its stipulated destination Bagh, official sources said.

Chief Engineer, AJK Electricity Department (South), Mirpur region, Tariq Mahmood Mallick when contacted, told The News on Friday that by defying all moral and legal norms, WAPDA had been resorting to forced and unscheduled loadshedding for hours at the Chakswari/Kotli 132KV circuits for the last 48 hours.

The chief engineer electricity expressed the electricity minister’s displeasure at WAPDA’s power cuts, which were in excess of the daily seven-hour schedule of loadshedding.

The chief engineer said that he contacted the concerned senior official of WAPDA, Director/In charge at the Regional Control Centre, Sarwar. The official not only flatly declined the request for rectification of the ugly situation faced by the consumers in the area, but was also not ready to cooperate for quelling the flaring sentiments of local power consumers.

The WAPDA official was also apprised of the minister’s feelings about the intolerable situation. Tariq Mallick said that the senior WAPDA official was informed that consumers were frustrated and threatened to resort to street agitation against the loadshedding.

Tariq Mallick said that the Director RCC WAPDA was told that the AJK Electricity Department was always ready to share the ongoing national energy crisis by strictly acting on the announced schedule of load shedding, but the WAPDA official was not ready to listen to anything.

Mallick said that such an attitude might cause great hatred and unrest among the masses, not only over the loadshedding and subsequent acute shortage of drinking water, but could also lead to a negative impact on the ongoing Mangla Dam raising project.

He said that the local population has always been very cooperative and positive to this mega project (Mangla Dam) of national importance, which is not only beneficial for strengthening the economy of the country, but also for AJK.