RAWALPINDI: Following the announcement by the Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif for reducing the load shedding duration to 3 hours only, the IESCO has adopted another way to agonize the citizens with disconnecting the supply of electricity for 9 to 10 hours daily to suburbs of Rawalpindi city in the name of maintenance work.
In the name of maintenance, power supply is disconnected by different sub divisions and feeders from 800 hrs to 1400 hrs and 1600 hrs daily under maintenance work schedule. These are peak office hours in the city. All the business centres plunge into darkness. The work in government offices comes to a standstill.
The citizens who come from far flung areas have to return homes in sheer disappointment when they are asked by the officials from respective offices to come tomorrow as there is no light in any room due to load shedding schedule. The daily routine life of all the citizens stands disrupted.
Lashing out at WAPDA the citizens said that no maintenance work is done anywhere but they have to bear the brunt of sweet will of IESCO kings who suspend the supply whenever they will.
The live wire is seen dangling in every street posing life threats to the citizens. Every street has turned into death trap due to these wires. Whenever any complaint is lodged the IESCO officials ask the complainant to make private arrangement for removing the naked wires. The citizens describe the prolonged load shedding a product of unholy nexus between the SDOs and XENs. They observe unannounced load shedding to cover up massive power theft which is done with their backing and support.
The citizens have appealed to Prime Minister, minister for water and power, chief executive IESCO and chairman WAPDA to take notice of the ongoing 10 to 12 hrs loadshedding in the name of maintenance work and take action against the officials found responsible in this irregularity.