Load shedding has disturbed the lives of the tribesmen. People are angry over excessive, unfair and unannounced load shedding in Landikotal.Grid officials take bribes on monthly basis from the rich people, custom agents and the owners of the ice factories to avoid load shedding on their feeders, revealed Afzal Khan Afridi an electrician. He has charged the grid in charge Muhammad Khan and others for taking bribes from the rich people at Torkham to keep power on new Sadu Khel feeder. Afzal Khan ex-chairman of Khyber Kashran Committee has said that under a conspiracy and for taking bribes the grid in charge at Landikotal is kind only on two three specific feeders while the rest of the feeders are always suffering badly from 22 hours load shedding which he termed was not fair.
Muhammad Khan, grid in charge commented that Faizulah exen- operation had instructed them to be lenient on new Sadu Khel feeder as some owners of ice factories on this feeder and the custom officials etc at Torkham were paying them some money to operators. They receive the money as bribe, told a Subidar of Khasadar Force. The grid in charge further told that until and unless the Jamrud, Hayat Abad and University grid stations were cut from the main circuit of Landikotal, their load-shedding problem would remain the same. Muhammad Khan told that on the one conductor there were Landikotal grid station, Hayat Abad and Jamrud that is why whenever it gets overloaded then Landikotal is dropped to facilitate Jamrud and Hayat Abad. Though he told that in the past this conductor was limited to Landikotal only. A conductor for one grid station at Landikotal cannot afford the load of two other grid stations, which he said was the sole problem of load shedding at Landikotal.
The excessive load shedding on the one hand and the discriminatory attitude of the grid officials at Landikotal on the other hand has put the local tribesmen in extreme trouble in this severe hot weather. Load shedding has created many faceted problems for the people. There are hardships in getting drinking water due to long 22 hours load shedding and low voltage. Mostly the women have been suffering from load shedding and the students at schools and the examination halls. The local political administration is also blind to see or feel the trouble of the people. The administration is only keen and vigilant to see smugglers to snatch money from them. The chairman of Khyber Kashran Committee Afzal Khan Afridi has asked the Wapda officials and the political administration to forthwith transfer the staff at Landikotal grid station so that a fair timetable could be arranged for providing electricity on all feeders without any discrimination. The local people have warned of protest if load shedding was not brought at equal level with Peshawar and other settled areas.
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