Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Sirajul Haq has demanded an impartial inquiry into the fire incident at the Guddu Power Plant which caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer and deprived the national grid of a cheap source of electricity for more than a year.
The Guddu power plant was burned to the ground during the Eid ul Ada holidays due to a fire, causing a loss worth Rs15 billion to the national exchequer. According to the sources, due to a fire that broke out in the plant on the night of Eid, 747 megawatts of power went out of the system and the fire caused a loss worth Rs15 billion.
Guddu Power Plant engulfed in a massive fire totally destroyed 15 billion loss to Pakistan.
Who is responsible??@OfficialDGISPR @SdqJaan @ImranRiazKhan @Naya__Pakistan_ @arsched @FarooquiJameel
@AaftabIqbl pic.twitter.com/8m31KSKAxp— SabirJellani PTI 🇦🇪🇵🇰 🇦🇪 (@SabirjellaniPTI) July 13, 2022
A report on the incident suggested the roof of the power plant leaked due to heavy rain on Saturday night (a day before Eidul Azha), resulting in short-circuiting and fire at the site. However, the firefighting equipment was out of order. It took three hours to control the fire and until then the steam turbine was damaged completely.
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Media sources claim that there were no fire extinguishers in the power plant and the staff members were not on duty when the fire broke out.
Sheer negligence?
As a result, netizens are blaming mismanagement and negligence for damage to Guddu Power Plant. According to them, had there been proper fire extinguishing equipment, the damages could have been avoided.
JI leader Siraj claimed the same. He said the absence of the fire extinguishers at the power plant raised a question mark on the ability and planning of the administration. Such incidents, he said, exposed the overall governance in the country.
Sheer negligence on part of the management and staff of the Guddu unit to control the fire is being described as the main reason. A report on the incident suggests the roof of the power plant leaked due to heavy rain on Saturday night (a day before Eidul Azha), resulting in short https://t.co/YnCfaaZToy
— Raza Anwar (@oldhallian) July 13, 2022
The fire completely burnt down the Guddu power plant,
causing a loss of Rs 15 billion to the national exchequer.Pakistanis this imported government started burning power plants only to promote Salman Shahbaz's solar business.#پنجاب_کپتان_کا #امپورٹڈ_حکومت_نامنظور
— PTI Abbottabad Official (@PTIAtdOfc) July 13, 2022
Important to note that the plant was producing 747MW of cheap electricity utilizing local gas through a dedicated pipeline from Kandhkot tehsil of Kashmore. The incident has deprived the energy basket of cheap electricity for at least one-and-a-half years, the time required for repair, reports claimed.
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However, a senior engineer told the media that the restoration of the power plant would take approximately one month. “The damage incurred is not as severe as is being reported, and those responsible will be identified,” he claimed.