KHYBER: The residents of Landi Kotal on Sunday besieged the local grid station for nearly six hours, and also switched off all the feeders supplying electricity to entire tehsil, Torkham and the army camp in protest against excessive loadshedding.

They threatened to disrupt electricity supply to entire Khyber tribal district if the duration of loadshedding was not curtailed.

Chanting slogans against the Tribal Areas Electricy Supply Company (Tesco) for allegedly subjecting the residents to nearly 20 hours of loadshedding, the protesters said they would forcibly stop work on the new transmission line from Tajikistan.

They also rejected installation of digital electricity meters at their homes and demanded of Tesco to ensure six hours of power supply to domestic consumers as agreed.

Though no protests were held in Bara and Jamrud tehsils, the local residents said they got only four hours of electricity daily and that too in intervals, causing them great hardships.

Tesco officials had held open kutcherys in Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal during the last week to convince people to install digital meters at their homes, but residents refused to oblige.

Meanwhile, Bara Press Club in collaboration with Maaroof Karwan organised a poetry session to welcome spring in Khyber.

A local poet, Qandahar Afridi chaired the session, while Saqib Afridi acted as moderator. Poets and writers recited their pieces and received applause from the participants.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Poll petitions’ delay
Updated 06 Jan, 2025

Poll petitions’ delay

THOUGH electoral transparency and justice are essential for the health of any democracy, the relevant quarters in...
Migration racket
06 Jan, 2025

Migration racket

A KEY part of dismantling human smuggling and illegal migration rackets in the country — along with busting the...
Power planning
06 Jan, 2025

Power planning

THE National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the power sector regulator, has rightly blamed poor planning for...
Confused state
Updated 05 Jan, 2025

Confused state

WHEN it comes to combatting violent terrorism, the state’s efforts seem to be suffering from a lack of focus. The...
Born into hunger
05 Jan, 2025

Born into hunger

OVER 18.2 million children — 35 every minute — were born into hunger in 2024, with Pakistan accounting for 1.4m...
Tourism triumph
05 Jan, 2025

Tourism triumph

THE inclusion of Gilgit-Baltistan in CNN’s list of top 25 destinations to visit in 2025 is a proud moment for...