NEPRA has raised the tariff of electricity to a maximum of 86 paisas per unit in the garb of levying fuel adjustment charge, which would mean another increase of up to eight percent in power bills. The consumers are already groaning under the burden of inflated rates of Rs. 10 per unit of power. This would be the proverbial last straw on the camel's back that made it break. In our everyday conversations, we have simply stopped talking about one to two rupees per unit that the hydel power costs to generate. We have accepted, indeed come to depend on the prohibitively expensive power generated from imported oil. The Bhasha dam appears to be far, too far removed from the horizon at present due to many hurdles in its way. The Herculean task of building anew a whole 135 KM long stretch of the Shahrah-e-Karakorum, the high price of land to be procured, the threat of Taliban and the fear of abduction of consultants raises serious doubts about its construction. The added threat of a potential earthquake in the seismic area of the dam further raises its risk profile and fears about its feasibility. The most suitable site of Kalabagh dam is not even being considered due to the so-called lack of consensus. The government has not even moved its little finger to achieve consensus on the dam while people are made to suffer a shortage of 2500 MW of power each day with the prospects of long shut downs imminent in future. It appears the ruling elite is least concerned about the public travails due to lack of affordable power while they go around dressed in branded suits and colourful ties. -DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI, Lahore, May 14.