GARDEZ (SW) – Locals and provincial council members in Paktia said on Sunday thousands of families in capital Gardez remain deprived of electricity.
Last year, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani inaugurated 220 KW power station here, and vowed up to 13,000 families in Gardez would benefit from it within three months. Back then, he said the power tariff would remain as low as AFN 6 per KW.
However, the provincial council members and local elders said on Sunday the developing work on the imported electricity transmission line remains idle.
Two such PC members, Mohammad Rehman Qadiri and Juma Gul Afghan, said if their demands are not met they would lockdown the office of power utility, DABS, in Paktia. They vowed there is no headway in construction work for the substation here.
Meanwhile, officials at the DABS in the province told Salam Watadnar the development works were halted during winter due to some technical glitches. Officials have vowed work would soon commence on the power station in the province.
According to the locals, besides thousands of residential units, many factories are also deprived of electricity leading to their closure and increase in joblessness.
ENDS
