MINGORA: The residents of four villages in Barikot tehsil have asked the authorities to resolve the problem of electricity loadshedding and low power voltage.
They said that they were facing the problems of prolonged electricity outages and low power voltage since long.
The residents of Khazana, Gharai, Rangila and Nemogram villages complained that they even couldn’t charge their mobile phone batteries as only five to 10 volts electricity was supplied to their houses. The area, having a number of peach orchards, produces a large quantity of tomatoes and onions.
Well-off farmers power their tubewell machines with the help of tractors while poor farmers are at the mercy of nature and wait for rain.
“The rich farmers run tubewells with the help of tractors to irrigate their fields but poor farmers have to wait for rain as they cannot afford the fuel expenses,” said Itebar Gul, a farmer of the area. He added that if voltage of the electricity was normal they would also run tubewell machines and get water for their fields.
Ali Akbar, another farmer of Khazana village, who was standing near a tubewell being powered by a tractor, said that he had to spend Rs800 per hour on diesel to run the tubewell with the help of tractor. “The voltage of the electricity is so low that it is good for nothing so we have to spend extra money to irrigate our agricultural fields,” he said.
Similarly, domestic consumers face multiple issues due to low voltage of electricity. They said that it seemed if they were not living in Pakistan but somewhere else without having any government.
“For recharging our mobile phones, we either request those who have solar panels or recharge it in vehicles,” said Layeq Khan, a resident of Gharai village.
Some people can afford to install solar systems at their homes. “Some people, who can afford, have purchased solar panels but majority of people cannot do it. We face real problem in summer when there is extreme hot weather and no electricity,” he added.
The villagers said that every elected government promised to solve their issue but no practical steps were taken to resolve it.
They said that they had knocked every door and staged several protests but the government did not pay heed to them.
“We appeal to the federal and provincial government to resolve the low voltage issue in our area immediately otherwise we will take extreme step for our rights,” they threatened.
