Daily Times

LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has severed the power connections of Lahore Fort due to non-payment of electricity bills, reliable sources told Daily Times on Thursday.

They said that there had been no electricity at the heritage site for the last two days due to which tourists and staff at the Lahore Fort were suffering badly.

Three out of five electricity meters were detached by the LESCO authorities. Sources said that the Punjab Archeology Department had not paid the total amount of electricity bills on time and only partial payments were made; as a result the LESCO’s operation wing took the action and detached their electric meters.

An Archeology Department official, who wished to remain unnamed, admitted that three out of five electric meters had been removed due to non-payment. “The LESCO dispatches bills only a day before the due date, making it difficult for the department to pay the bills on time,” he said, and added that the Archeology Department should follow a procedure to pay electric bills through the Accountant General’s Office (AG Office).

It takes the AG Office almost 10 days to release the funds, he said, adding: “When funds are approved the due date to pay the bill gets over and thus surcharge is added to the next bill.

He added, “We are paying the bills but the surcharge amount remains there.” According to a copy of bill available with Daily Times, the pending amount stands at Rs 294,931.

“We are writing a letter to the LESCO that Lahore Fort is a world heritage site and the LESCO should give relaxation to the department in this regard.” He added that he had spoken to the LESCO authorities concerned to fix the issue.

When contacted, Punjab Accountant General Mian Shujjauddin Zaka said that they had approved the yearly funds for every department and never stopped funds for electricity bills.

On the other hand, the archeology secretary told Daily Times that electricity meters had been transferred to the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) and the authority was responsible for the payment of bills.

However, Asif Zaheer of the WCLA said that no meter had been transferred to the authority. He said that the authority had arranged electricity for the ‘Picture Wall’ and ticketing booth while the rest of the areas of the fort were still without electricity.

Published in Daily Times, March 30^th 2018.