SHAKEELA ANDRABI
SRINAGAR: As Kashmir started witnessing mercury soar, people are facing load shedding is implemented in the traditional winter style.
Unscheduled power outages in Kashmir do not seem to be going away any time soon as the result of the Governments move to purchase less power from out-side Jammu and Kashmir discom, which has increased the gap between supply and demand for electricity.
According to the reports there is a directive to procure less electricity from outside discoms, resulting in annoying and unannounced power outages. Right now peak time demand is around 1450MWs and department is only able to supply 1200 MWs, which means a deficit of 250 MWs that is forcing to opt for load shedding .
Officials are denying to talk about this publically but ,as per sources power purchased had decreased, leading to a gap between the demand and supply of electricity, as a result department has no choice but to use load shedding in both metered and non-metered areas even smart metered areas are also facing lengthy power cuts.
“If we don’t cut power supply to metered areas ,then other areas will have to face over 12-hour power cuts,” officials said. This is for the first time that Srinagar and rest of the Valley is witnessing load shedding in the peak summers, when maximum and minimum temperature is gone up above normal.
These untimely power cuts have resulted in chaos, confusion, and anger among the masses. Srinagar residents raised many important issues. “These frequent power cuts have made our lives miserable., inverters are down, our Wi-Fi does not work since it requires power, and that interrupts our work to a large extent,” he said.
Meanwhile National Conference expressed concern over prolonged power outages across Kashmir division, saying the administration has failed to ensure basic amenities to people. The Party General Secretary Ali Mohammad Sagar, while interacting the people and party delegations from different parts of the Kashmir, said, “The administration is busy in fanfare and running PR spectacles while people continue to suffer for want of basic civic amenities.”
He said regular and the inconsistent power supply has particularly hit the elderly, industrial sector and tourism sector the most. He said the incumbent administration has turned a blind eye to the issues concerning people.
“In summers, the Jal Shakti department blames the harsh winter for water shortages, but in summer they don’t have any answers. We are facing water scarcity issues constantly due to unknown and illogical reasons. The pipelines erected in the area decades ago have not been replaced by the department which is the main cause of water crises as the pipes are getting damaged. The department should replace all damaged pipes to ensure hassle-free water supply to consumers,” said Irshad Ahmad from Alochi Bagh.
“We are fed up with tall claims made by the government all the time, while nothing has changed on the ground. The water crisis in city areas is a routine now. Authorities are claiming to make Srinagar a “smartcity†but how it is possible when basic facilities are not provided to the citizens. This seems like a cruel joke with people. Recently a minor fault in the Dachigam canal left dozens of localities without water for weeks. Although the matter was taken up, people of these areas faced hardships for an indefinite period. Authorities should first provide the basic facilities to its people rather than claiming they will make the summer capital Srinagar smart city or a digital city,” said Bashir Ahmad from Ishber Nishat.
“Many areas falling under the Lal Bazar area are facing water shortage around the year. Locals from the area are being deprived of this basic facility despite paying the water fee on time. The water plant supplying consumers seems insufficient to cater to the needs of people. The concerned department should ensure a few more supply units in the area so that the people do not face the problem. In winters, we are facing a severe water crisis and we remain without water for weeks. Authorities should come up with a mechanism to provide water to every household in the city,” sdaid Jehangir Ahmad from Lal Bazar.