Pak: Naltar Hydropower project remains incomplete even after 15 years
Sep 28, 2024
Naltar [PoGB], September 28 : The economic mismanagement of the administration in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit Baltistan (PoGB) has forced the area to witness major infrastructural underdevelopment as the general public in these regions continues to suffer from issues relating to the unavailability of basic amenities like clean drinking water, and electricity, along with major economic and infrastructural underdevelopment in the region, WTV News, a local news source reported.
The administration in PoGB continues to fail in completing the Naltar Hydropower Project, which was supposed to be located near the Naltar Valley in PoGB for at least 15 years. If completed, the Naltar Project would have provided 16 MW of electricity to the people of PoGB, providing relief to the residents of the area, WTV News reported on Friday.
A local leader of the Naltar Valley in the news report said, "Even in the winters, when the demand for electricity is high due to the cold, the people in PoGB face severe load shedding of around 22 hours. The project was initiated in 2009 to provide electricity to the local people. But it is 2024 now and the situation has not changed yet, as the project is still not finished."
According to the WTV News report, the administration of PoGB had claimed that the project would be over by October this year. The government had promised the local populace to complete the project. However, the local leader claimed that after an inspection, he understood that the project could not be completed any time soon.
"The project cannot be completed before next year, that too if the government decides to continue to keep up their working speed," he said.
While referring to another delayed Hydropower project titled '20 MW Hanzel Hydropower Project', the local leader stated, "This project was undertaken by another agency and that project too is not yet completed. These projects would have served the people a lot but none of these projects are complete. The government did not keep pace with the construction despite knowing the problem of severe load shedding. These projects, if completed would have given a lot of relief to the people but now I believe that the people will have to face load shedding for the upcoming winter."
