Due to the slackness of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) officials, several localities in the federal capital are pilfering electricity by using ‘Kunda’s (illegal connections). Residents of more than 10 localities, mostly slum areas, in the city are committing this crime. According to an estimate, there are about 17 slums in the city but only four of them have been regularized which are getting electricity through legal means. During the visit of slum area in Sector I/9, this scribe found that most of the people in the area had connected Kunda’s with main power lines and were running heavy appliances by pilfering electricity. However, the role of IESCO, which is supposed to stop such a practice, seems active nowhere in the area.
IESCO sources told that the company had already been facing some financial crunch and power theft had also been adding to its losses. Ironically, these colonies also stand illegal in the record of Capital Development Authority (CDA) while the population of these slums is around 50,000. It has been also learnt that since these localities were illegal, the residents could not get ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) from the CDA to get electricity connections legally from the IESCO. Talking to Pakistan Today, residents of slum area situated in Sector I/9 told that they had been residing there for the last many decades and it was now difficult for them to leave the place as they had settled in these areas. “The authorities concerned have forced us to steal electricity despite the fact that we have applied many times for electricity connections,” said Javed, resident of Essa Nagri, a slum in capital. When contacted, IESCO spokesman Farooq Ahmad said the power company had its vigilant teams which remove illegal power connections from the city. They had also registered a number of cases against power pilferers and the company would remove all illegal connections on priority basis, he added.
