Srinagar: While Kashmir is in the middle of the harsh winter with mercury already nose-diving to nearly three decades old record for low temperatures, unprecedented power cuts are adding to peoples woes across the Valley.
Complaints galore that the Power Development Department has miserable failed to even stick to its load shedding schedule announced much before Darbar move offices closed in Srinagar. It provides for curtailment which extends in some areas to more than 14 hours daily.
“We don’t even get electricity for three hours daily,” said Ghulam Mohammad, a resident of Amda Kadal Srinagar.
“As the curtailment schedule was made operational, we used to get electricity for 3 hours after curtailment for as many hours. Now what (PDD) officials do, they provide electricity for 10-20 minutes and shut it for more than half an hour and then again provide for 10-20 minutes and shut it again and so on,” he said, adding, “we only get electricity for few minutes and then they stick to 3 hour curtailment and repeat the process. In this way we get electricity for less than three hours.”
A number of people from different parts of Valley complained of “arbitrary and prolonged” power cuts and said that they are left helpless against the freezing temperatures.
“It is agonizing. We live in metered area and as per official curtailment schedule, we are supposed to face lesser curtailment but we barely see the electricity. It seems we are facing punishment,” said Nazir Ahmad Khan, a resident of Lal Bazar.
Gulzar Ahmad, a resident of Nowhatta area in old city here said, “The area goes through power cuts stretching at least 20 hours a day.”
People from rural areas of Kashmir also complained of prolonged curtailments by the PPD.
“The outages are terrible. We barely witness any supply of electricity. It seems that the administration is punishing us,” said a resident of Baramulla.
Referring the often-repeated statement by Chief Engineer PDD that the department is forced to go for load-shedding, Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Hawal said: “I use power judiciously but why I’m not provided electricity. The justification doesn’t make sense. People need electricity and the government needs to act.”
Many residents said that “gas turbines” should be made operational so as to meet the “extra-ordinary situation.”
“Governor and his advisors need to act fast. The situation is terrible and demands extra-ordinary measures,” they said. Chief Engineer PDD could not be contacted for the comments.
