Ambassador of European Union Dr. Riina Kionka visited Swat where the people of Kalam warmly welcomed her.
Elders of the community presented traditional shawls, Chitrali caps and other traditional gifts to the ambassador. She also visited the hydro power project built under the EU Peace project. They also visited the Bahrain 1.2 MW Micro Hydro Power Station. The SRSP team apprised the EU Ambassador about the damage to the unit during the 2022 floods. During the flood, one unit of the micro-hydro power station was completely washed away. The EU Ambassador also visited Ashuran Kalam.
According to SRSP officials this MHP has a capacity of 1.2 MW which supplies electricity to 1652 households and 362 commercial consumers i.e. hotels and shops. Ambassador Koinka also visited the intake of MHP which was damaged during the 2022 floods. The UN Ambassador was briefed about the working systems in the power house of MHP and the damage caused by the 2022 floods.
Dr. Riina Koinka met a community gathering consisting of community elders, members of the Hotels Association of Kalam and members of the Glandulous value chain. They thanked the European Union for doing this and said that the electricity provided by hydropower has brought prosperity to the area and every house has light. Earlier, due to lack of electricity, even tourists were not coming to Kalam because there was no electricity in the hotels here, but now after this project, everything is satisfactory.
Farmers involved in the gladiolus value chain presented their progress and apprised the Ambassador of the increase in their income as they engage in gladiolus cultivation under the EU PEACE project. The Ambassador appreciated the efforts being made under EU PEACE and assured support to leverage it. The Ambassador also visited 400 MPHs in Jungle Inn, established for 1100 households and 216 commercial users. The UN Ambassador was briefed about MHP.
After that, the mission of the UN Ambassador reached the Tirat Union Council, Tirat Tehsil, Bahrain. Women with various business interests set up their stalls. These women were trained under the EU PEACE project. The Ambassador took keen interest in their work and had a detailed discussion with them. After that, the Ambassador was also briefed on the value chain activities carried out under the EU PEACE project by the members of various BIGs.
