Women protest on Karakoram highway against load shedding in Hunza

Gilgit Baltistan (GB) women demonstrate against the region’s dire power situation. Major towns in GB, including Skardu, Hunza, and Gilgit, are suffering from severe load-shedding, with up to 22 hours of power outages per day.

For many years, there has been a problem with the lack of energy, particularly in the fall and winter when hydropower facilities are not able to run.

The local population’s quality of life is being negatively impacted, the region’s economy is being negatively impacted, and impediments are being created for internet enterprises and freelancers. The demonstrators claimed that because they only receive energy for two hours per day, their lives are in disarray.

The administrations in the area have failed to come up with a long-term plan for the production and distribution of electricity. The current hydroelectric projects are ill-conceived, dangerous, and poorly maintained, which prevents them from satisfying the rising demand for electricity.

In spite of the abundance of wind, sunlight, and water, the federal and regional administrations in GB have not made efficient use of these resources to generate power.