Muhammad Mukaram
SRINAGAR: With intense winter gripping the entire Kashmir region, unscheduled power cuts and erring power supply have forced people to slam the working of Power Development Department (PDD) though the authorities believe that aforesaid department ensuring best possible services under such hard climatic conditions.
Complaining vociferously Zoona Begum (50), a resident of Khrew Industrial area, where power should remain at least 18 hours daily, said that nowadays we hardly see electricity. Pesky power cuts and sudden faults are frustrating, she added.
“The PDD employees show their faces only when they have to distribute monthly electricity bills, which if not paid in time, leads to cutting of power supply lines. During peak hours electricity is playing hide and seek,” rued Zoona Begum. The unscheduled and prolonged power cuts have left the entire Valley under dark cover. Most parts of the Valley including summer capital Srinagar is reeling under darkness irrespective of metered and non-metered areas.
“The unscheduled power cuts have made our life hell. There should be proper timing for power curtailment during night hours. Politicians and bureaucrats are staying in Jammu in winter how they will feel the sufferings of common person living in the Valey,” she added.
Notably, during winter, the Valley is witnessing protests and road blocks as people are showing their anger against the PDD Kashmir for unscheduled power curtailment.
However, according to the officials of PDD, Kashmir, the department has availability of 1200 MWs of power, while the demand is of 1900-MWs during the winter season. To overcome the shortage, we are left with no other option but prolonged power cuts”, they added.
Pertinently, in PDD, there are two types of areas , metered and non metered and already they(PDD) issued power curtailment schedule for both areas, in a week metered areas will have to face 21 hours power cut and in non- metered areas power cut will remain for 42 hours. Chief Engineer, Power Development Department, Kashmir, Shehnaz Goni, while talking to STATE TIMES, blamed people for unscheduled power cuts claiming they (people) are not using electricity as per their needs. She claimed that they (people) are misusing power by putting un-necessary extra load on transformers which creates shortage in the power supply. “If people will use the electricity judiciously, I challenge that there will be no un-scheduled power cut in the entire Valley,” Goni added. She said that another culprit behind erratic power supply is power pilferage.
