Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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These are the same people who blocking building of dams in the country. So, why are they protesting outside presidency? Do they think Zardari is producing power in inside? Gas maybe, but not power sure. :smiley:

ISLAMABAD: Protesting against the government’s inaction over the ongoing power crisis, parliamentarians, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), staged a protest and sit-in on Thursday in front of the presidency.
The protest also included angry sloganeering from the ruling party’s very own parliamentarian. “A government that is failing to protect its people does not deserve to rule the country,” Nasir Ali Shah from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Quetta’s Hazara community said.
MPs from almost all opposition parties and even an uneasy government ally, totalling about 100, took part in the protest.
Members of the Q and like-minded factions of the Pakistan Muslim League and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), rallied with the PML-N members from the parliament to the presidency.
Head of his own PPP faction, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and a couple of members from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) were also among the protesters.
Almost 100 MPs and 50 activists later staged a brief sit-in outside the official secretariat-cum-residence of President Asif Ali Zardari where members from all parties addressed protesters.
Although a large number of law-enforcement agencies personnel were on their toes – both in and outside the presidency – at no point did they confront the marching MPs who were led by National Assembly opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
Addressing the parliamentarians, Khan warned the government that his party would hold more such protests if the administration did not steer the country out of the multiple crises it was facing.
“We are here to make the resident of this house [the Presidency] realise that the people of Pakistan are in pain 
 and they are desperately looking towards their rulers for help,” Khan said.
(Read: Electricity matters)
The PML like-minded group chief Salim Saifullah Khan said there was a crisis in the country and nobody seemed serious about tackling the challenges.
“The government should have focused on solving people’s problems 
 but unfortunately, that is not happening,” Sherpao said.
“The government’s numerical strength in parliament doesn’t reflect the public support for it,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2011.

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

better than protesting on a highway, blocking traffic and ransacking offices.

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

No Power cut off since two days in Lahore

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

Why are “parliamentarians” protesting in front of “presidency”? :konfused: Shouldn’t they be passing some resolution in assembly? Why does it look like scoring brownie points?

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

Anghan terha.

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency

Pakistan total installed capacity is aprox. 20,000 MW, Adding 17.4 MW would be almost doubling it unless there is a typo some where, if true this would be a nice new year gift for the people of Pakistan.

Gomal Zam Dam to be operational by Q3 of 2012

  • Road and other infrastructure work has been completed

  • Electricity produced could power 25,000 homes

Zeeshan Javaid

ISLAMABAD: The long-awaited Gomal Zam Dam, having a power generation capacity of 17.4 megawatt (MW), will be operational by the third quarter of 2012.

Sources close to Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Shakeel Durani revealed that work on the infrastructure of the mega project, situated in the tribal belt of South Waziristan, has been completed. Sources added that 85 percent work on the installation of two large turbines, imported from Italy, has also been completed.

Sources further maintained that water is being stored in the pond of the dam, while power generation from this particular hydel source would start by the third quarter of 2012.

However, work on the edifice of irrigation channels linked to Gomal Zam is still in progress, but more than 55 percent has also been completed on this phase of the project.

Sources claimed that after the completion of irrigation channels, the barren land of Dera Ismail Khan and Tank districts, down town areas of Waziristan belt could be irrigated, which would help in habitation and development of the area.

Sources in the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) said that road infrastructure surrounding the Gomal Zam, including 108-kilometre long Tank-Jundola-Makeen and 120-km long Tank-Khajoori-Kach Road have been completed, which will help eliminate security issues around the dam site.

To closely monitor the construction site, authorities have urged the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) high-ups to vacate Gomal Zam Dam colony in Tank, so that staff posted at the dam site can be provided accommodation.

Gomal Zam dam, which is being constructed about 35 kilometres from Tank in Khajoori Kach area of South Waziristan, will irrigate 163,086 acres barren land of Tank and DI Khan districts thus opening up the area for development.

Experts say that with the upgraded infrastructure, the Gomal Zam would have 1.14 million acre feet (MAF) gross live storage of water, and 0.360 MAF of perennial and flood flow of River Gomal to provide irrigation water to barren lands.

When the project was first approved in August 2001, the estimated cost was $136.2 million. However it could not be completed by the April 2006 deadline in the wake of kidnapping incidents and the murder of a Chinese engineer on October 14 2004.

The dam is of the roller compacted concrete gravity variety and has a height of 437 ft while measuring 492 ft in length. A barrage, which will be built at Kot Murtaza, is also part of the project. The 65 km long main canal, having an average discharge of 572cusecs and 18 distributaries, is also being constructed for irrigation and water distribution system.

According to a communiqué issue by WAPDA, Chairman Shakeel Durani said that the dam would significantly contribute towards socio-economic development of the country, especially Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the project will ensure availability of water for irrigated agriculture, help control floods and provide low-cost hydel electricity.

During his visit to the project site in South Waziristan Agency, Durani said that water storage capacity of 1.14 MAF would help to irrigate 163,000 acres of land, and would help counter the risk of floods.

Additionally, the project, which had a generation capacity of 17.4 MW, will also contribute 91 million units of electricity annually to the national grid. Durani added that this amount of electricity is sufficient to supply about 25,000 households in the area.

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Re: Power crisis: 100 legislators rally outside presidency


Adding only 17.4MW will be less than 0.1% addition to 20,000MW, not doubling it.