12 hour load shedding bludgeons Chitralis

CHITRAL, 22 Jun 07: An unannounced, unscheduled minimum 12 hour load shedding in 24 hours, has put the inhabitants of Chitral town in a spin, who are crying hoarse knowing not what to do about it.

After enduring a long and dreary electric breakdown of two months at a stretch in winters, Chitralis were expecting some respite in good weather but this hope has been shattered by WAPDA, the recently declared most corrupt organisation in Pakistan.

Tourists, Chitrali students, workers, laborers etc working down country who come to Chitral at this time of the year to escape the heat are exasperated.

The irony of the whole situation is that Water and potential electricity are the biggest riches of Chitral but unfortunately due to short sighted leadership, this wealth has never been brought to the benefit of the masses and no long term developmental projects have been conceived by our erstwhile leaders, resulting in crises after crises for the poor Chitrali people.

The people of Chitral now seem to have been forced by circumstances to wake up  and are determined to elect 'real' leaders who can sacrifice their personal interests for the collective interests of the people so that self inflicted deprivations become a matter of the past.