SWABI: The people of Swabi have demanded the provision of subsidised electricity for they had offered great sacrifices for the construction of Tarbela Dam.

They were speaking at a gathering organised by the Swabi Action Committee here on Sunday.

It is to mention here that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led Punjab government has reduced the electricity rate for consumers using up to 500 units.

Reacting to the announcement, the speakers said Rs45 billion subsidy announced for the Punjab consumers created a sense of deprivation among the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa because they were also Pakistanis.

The meeting deplored that the people of KP were getting power at expensive prices for the electricity produced in their own province.

Salim Khan Advocate, former provincial general secretary of Awami National Party, said SAC’s main objective was to get power for people of Swabi at concessional rates because they had rendered tremendous sacrifices for the construction of Tarbela and Ghazi Barotha dams.

“We should stand united and show the government that our sacrifices should be rewarded in any case. We will go to the Tarbela powerhouse and pitch tents there and are determined to stay there until our demands of discounted electricity are met,” Mr Salim vowed.

Masood Jabar, former provincial deputy general secretary of Qaumi Watan Party, said SAC members were ready to march to the Tarbela Dam for their rights.

PROTEST: Members of Ittehad Kashtkaran (IK) staged a demonstration here on Sunday to protest against the irrigation department’s notification that the tobacco growers must get no-objection certificate from it before getting payments from banks on account of tobacco sales to the companies.

The protest was staged in Marghuz, the native village of provincial irrigation minister Aqibullah Khan, who is brother of MNA Asad Qaiser.

The protesting farmers said the notification would have a negative impact on the tobacco cultivators, who would now be forced to visit the irrigation department’s offices for obtaining NoC regarding payment of revenue tax before getting their payments from banks.

A notification issued by the provincial government asked the banks not to make payment to the tobacco growers unless they present the NOC of the irrigation department, which was aimed to target those farmers who failed to pay land revenue tax, so that it could be deducted from their tobacco payment vouchers.

Addressing the protesting farmers, Liaqat Yousafzai, central general secretary of Kashtkar Coordination Council, asked the government to withdraw the notification, or the growers would continue protesting.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2024