After years of darkness due to terrorism, Eastern Ghouta sees the light

Damascus Countryside (ST): After the heroes of the Syrian Arab Army achieved victory over terrorism in Eastern Ghouta, workers of the Electricity Company continued to fulfill their duty to restore light to those areas after the darkness of terrorism-to illuminate its paths that were teeming with movement and production before the terrorist war.

Despite the cold weather and difficult working conditions, a smile could be seen on the face of Bassam Al-Marjeh and Samir Al-Dirani, emergency workers in Kafr Batna’s electricity, as they were repairing high and low voltage lines to deliver electrical current to the townspeople, referring to the sabotage and destruction that the electrical network has suffered from as a result of attacks by armed terrorist groups on the sector.

Worker Bassam Al-Marjeh explained to the news correspondent that he and his friend were repairing the electrical current in Kafr Batna and Jisreen throughout the war period, while Dirani said that their work is difficult because the network is always subjected to frequent interruptions due to the increased loads on the networks and the poor nutrition in that area.

Khalid al-Quwatli, mayor of Saqba municipality, recalled the pre-war period and the abundant services  that the town used to enjoy, especially electricity, noting that 56 transformers were set up in the city before the war because it was a city of various crafts and the main dependence of its residents was on electricity, but these stations were sabotaged and with the liberation of the area at the hands of the heroes of the Syrian Arab Army electricity workshops began to rehabilitate the stations and light the town again.

The scene in Douma is not much different from its predecessor, as the effects of terrorism are evident everywhere, as the armed organizations cut wires, demolished towers, and stole cables, according to Nasreen Diyab from the Douma Electricity Department. She indicated that before the war there were no complaints from the people, pointing to the great efforts made by the government to return the electrical system to its previous state.

In order to find out the reality of work in the transfer stations, news correspondents met a number of managers who had continued their work and did not leave their places and preserved the equipment despite their constant exposure to danger. Head of Saqba transfer station Abdel Aziz al-Narji explained that he secured the entrances to the station, strengthened its doors, and transferred the 44 batteries to his home from 2012 until the liberation of the region in 2018.

Al-Narji referred to the rehabilitation and maintenance of the Saqba plant, which feeds Saqba, Arbin, Zamalka, Hamouriyah, Kafr Batna, Jisreen and Aftris.

During the years of the war, workers of power stations in Eastern Ghouta faced great suffering in reaching their workplaces, which was mentioned by worker  Jouma’a Dmeiriya who said ” we used to walk daily more than four kilometers to reach the station to feed the areas of  Al-Assad Suburb, Seidnaya and Al-Wafidin Camp.”

K.Q