People in Pak s Gilgit-Baltistan protest over power cuts during Ramzan ANI | Updated: May 08, 2021 14:20 IST
Gilgit-Baltistan [Pakistan], May 8 (ANI): Daily power cuts lasting 20 hours in some districts of Pakistan s Gilgit-Baltistan have prompted locals to protest as they are forced to observe Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in darkness.
According to Arab News, several hydropower projects are being built in the area to address the electricity crisis. Only last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a PKR 370 billion development package for the region. But despite this flurry of activity and promises, for now, local businesses, not to mention and Ramzan and upcoming Eid Al-Fitr celebrations, have been upended by power outages, the report said.
People in Gilgit-Baltistan protest during Ramzan
ANI
08 May 2021, 18:55 GMT+10
Gilgit-Baltistan [Pakistan], May 8 (ANI): Daily power cuts lasting 20 hours in some districts of Pakistan s Gilgit-Baltistan have prompted locals to protest as they are forced to observe Ramzan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, in darkness.
According to Arab News, several hydropower projects are being built in the area to address the electricity crisis. Only last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced a PKR 370 billion development package for the region. But despite this flurry of activity and promises, for now, local businesses, not to mention and Ramzan and upcoming Eid Al-Fitr celebrations, have been upended by power outages, the report said.
KHAPLU, GHANCHE: In the mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan in northern Pakistan, daily power cuts of up to 20 hours or more in some districts have pushed locals to protest over having to observe Ramadan in darkness. Gilgit-Baltistan, an impoverished part of the larger Kashmir region, is the gateway of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with high potential to generate energy from hydropower, but its residents have so far reaped few rewards of the $65 billion infrastructure project. When the province went to local assembly polls in November last year, Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to set up hydroelectric power plants. Last month, the region’s chief minister, Khalid Khurshid, gave the provincial secretary powers to ensure no power cuts during suhoor and iftar meals in Ramadan.