ALPURI: Prolonged and unannounced electricity outages have paralysed daily life in Shangla amid a severe cold spell.The power cuts have not only brought business activities to a halt but have also badly affected household and essential services, leaving residents facing serious hardship.
On Tuesday, electricity was cut across Shangla, including the suburban areas of Khwazakhela and Matta, in the morning and was not restored until 4:30 pm. Shortly after power was restored, it was again cut at around 5:00 pm.
Residents described the episode as the longest breakdown in recent days. Despite freezing temperatures, the extended outage worsened public difficulties.Locals said that due to a lack of seasonal rainfall, water levels in local rivers and streams dropped to alarmingly low levels, reducing the power generation capacity of local hydropower plants. However, residents maintained that despite the water shortage, keeping electricity completely suspended was unjust.
An alarming aspect of the situation is that 72 megawatts of electricity are being generated from the Ranial Dam and 12 megawatts from the Karora Hydropower Project, while the total electricity requirement of Shangla district is only 7 megawatts. Despite this, the entire district remains without power, causing widespread anxiety among the public.Continuous power outages forced electricity-dependent businesses in Shangla to shut down.
Shopkeepers said that relying on generators during severe cold was not feasible, and prolonged outages crippled their businesses. Hospitals, markets, private laboratories, the agricultural system, flour mills, workshops, mobile phone shops and other businesses have been badly affected.
Traders and social groups in Shangla staged strong protests against power outages. Protesters said that while Shangla was in the grip of intense cold, electricity was suspended throughout the day.
