MINGORA: Two micro hydropower stations built by the Sarhad Rural Support Programme have ensured round the clock electricity supply to the residents of Kalam at a time when the rest of the country suffers prolonged power outages.

The power stations established by SRSP with funding by European Union in Kalam valley generate enough power for the local households.

“After the 2010 floods the entire Kalam union council with a population of over 28,000 people sank in darkness as the electricity lines were disrupted. The households, including hotels, depended on petrol and diesel to light their buildings,” Nazir Ahmad of Kalam told this correspondent.

“Residents had to pay Rs20 to the shopkeepers who had generator for charging their mobile phones,” said Asad Ali.

However, the people’s misery ended after the micro hydropower stations, powered by the valley’s own water, started producing electricity.

“After the construction of the power stations we are getting cheap electricity as we have to pay three rupees per unit for domestic use and seven rupees per unit for commercial use,” said Akbar Khan, a shopkeeper at Kalam Bazaar.

The uninterrupted power supply has also enthused the tourists who no longer have to stay in hotels faced with long hours of blackouts. “I am excited to see the Kalam Bazaar getting unhindered power supply. My family happily comes out of our hotel in the night to enjoy the cool breeze outside amid lighting everywhere,” Zain Ahmad, a tourist from Lahore, said.

“The 400KW micro hydropower station in Jungle Inn area and the 1.2MW power station in Ashuran are the best models of public-private partnership,” said Musa Khan, an SRSP official.

JOURNALISM ETHICS: Speakers at a training session on media ethics and freedom of expression on Friday stressed the need for mediapersons to maintain objectivity and confirm news stories before publishing.

The session was organised by Pakistan US Alumni Network, KP & Fata Chapter, at the Swat University. Journalists and students of journalism department participated in the session.

DIG Malakand Akhtar Hayat Khan was the chief guest while varsity’s journalism department chairman Khalid Khan was also in attendance.

The participants were informed about how to balance their news stories, factors to be adopted before filing a story and the responsibilities of professional journalists.

“Due to the competition of breaking news, most media outlets do not confirm the news prior to its broadcasting which causes violence and unrest in the society,” said Rafiullah Khan, a former assistant professor, adding responsibility fell on the shoulders of journalists to communicate correct information.

“Journalists are not common folk but they are the eyes and ears of the society. It’s their duty to highlight genuine problems and present public miseries to related government authorities,” he maintained.

Addressing the participants, DIG Akhtar Hayat said media was the fourth pillar of the state but unfortunately unprofessional and inexperienced people who had not enough knowledge about the media ethics distorted the sacred profession.

Certificates were distributed among the participants at the end of the session.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2017