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Wednesday 15 June 2022

Daily Diary (DD) - Day 166 of 2022

0708hrs:

Day 10 at Maqbool Bhat Shaheed Square - Dadyaal.

0805hrs

We've initiated communication with the local administration today and suggested that they provide an appropriately modern and functional waste disposal bin. Here's the application:


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It is without a doubt that the governance system around us - AJK son of Pakistan son of Imperial Britain - is rapidly disintegrating. The electricity we are receiving in the highest revenue generating tehsil (subdivision) of AJK (namely Dadyaal) is dwindling by the day. It is now easily less than 12 hours a day and the voltage is also rapidly deteriorating. There is no longer sufficient current to run a fridge and the ceiling fan also turns at a speed barely enough to generate a superficial breeze.

Not a day passes when we see multiple examples of our forests being burned out. All other aspects of governance have a similar gory tale to tell.

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It was somewhat refreshing to read the following document:


Here's the comment that I made after reading it:

Thank you Jonathan. I found that quite insightful in some respects. I would just say among other important criteria for successful mediation in conflict resolution; the two that are most important in my opinion (and experience of over 17 years of uninterrupted on the ground action-oriented research in Jammu Kashmir & Allied areas) are genuine & representative inclusion of the affectees of conflict in any process and for that process to not be bound in time, it should be for the long haul, until resolution.

Meanwhile, I hope you are keeping well? We met quite a long time ago, one evening at a coffee shop in Islamabad, Pakistan.

End of comment....

The document above can be accessed on LinkedIn here.

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Today I'll provide you a real-time insight into our electricity woes in AJK and specifically in Dadyaal, as I sit literally sweating on my keyboard:

1500hrs: Electricity arrived

1532hrs: Electricity departed

1646hrs: Electricity arrived (albeit at a very low voltage, not enough to make the ceiling fan spin at any reasonable speed!)

1718hrs: The voltage perked up to its regular voltage!

1753hrs: Electricity departed once again

1922hrs: Arrived

2034hrs: Gone

2044hrs: Returns

2111hrs: Gone....and its raining

2132hrs: Returns as rain recedes

2144hrs: Gone again

2153hrs: Back again

2202hrs: Gone yet again

2300hrs: The electricity returns once again and remained until midnight.

Total:

- Thus, in 9 hours of monitoring between 1500hrs and midnight we received 279 minutes of 540 possible. 

- That is, 4 hours 39 minutes received (of which 32 minutes were of low voltage) out of 9 hours. 

- Barely half, which would average out to be around 12 hours out of 24.   

Percentage of electricity received: 51.7% of which 11.5% was low voltage. 

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Earlier in the evening in Dadyaal, there appeared to be the first real protest against the power shortages meted out to this territory, despite producing more than ten times its need. There was a protest a couple of weeks ago but that was mild and brief. This was fiery, reports tell me.

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Yes, the following is as absurd as it is true in the 'water kingdom' of Asia:


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Meanwhile, I fired the following shot on Facebook, which I can't embed here - except as an image - but anyone can reach the link here



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