Karora Hydropower project: Jirga threatens protest if power not provided to Shangla

BESHAM: The Shangla National Jirga on Wednesday threatened to launch a protest movement if the government did not provide electricity to the Shangla district from Karora Hydropower project forthwith.

Speaking at the jirga, Nawaz Mahmood Khan and Sadidur Rahman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Muhammad Rishad and Intikhab Alam Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Azam Khan and Mutawakil Khan of the Awami National Party, Zaidullah Khan of the Pakistan People’s Party, Dr Sajjad Khan and Shah Saud advocate of Qaumi Watan Party, Immad Ahmad and Muhammad Tayyab Khan of Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam, Muhamamd Naeem Khan, Nisar Ahmad, Sarfaraz Khan and others said that Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (Pedo) was applying delaying tactics to provide electricity to Shangla from the Karora Hydropower project.

The elders and political leaders said that the Karora Hydropower project was generating 11.8 megawatt electricity and an 11-point agreement had been signed with the provincial government for providing power to the Shangla from the said project in 2015.

However, they said that six years had been passed but the government and project executing organization – Pedo - did not honour their pledges to provide electricity to the local populace.

They said that their lands were turned barren, water springs dried up and the local people were compelled to leave their hearth and homes and migrate to other places.

They said the provincial government and the Pedo’s indifferent attitude were provoking the people to launch a protest movement for their genuine rights.

The elders and political leaders urged the government and Pedo high-ups to take notice of the issue seriously or else they would have no other option but to launch a protest movement.

The jirga decided that the government would be contacted to resolve the issue forthwith.

On this occasion, PTI’s Nawaz Mahmood Khan and Sadidur Rahman said that the government had fulfilled some of the demands while the remaining issues would be resolved after a meeting with the KP chief minister.

Karora Hydropower Project was conceived as a run-of-river scheme on Khan Khwar, which is right tributary of Indus River in Shangla district.