Sopore, Dec 22 : Unscheduled power cuts in Sopore and its adjacent areas in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district are giving a tough time to the residents who are up in arms against the administration.
The people said their lives and businesses have been severely affected due to pesky power cuts which have made their life “hell”.
“There is nothing true to the claims of the administration which has assured of a better power supply this winter,” Furqan Kanna, a local of Krankshivan Colony, told the news agency—
Locals said it is “very unfortunate that despite this bone-chilling cold, the Power Development Department (PDD) has completely failed to provide a timely electricity supply”.
The affected areas include Krankshivan Colony, Jamia Qadeem, Neherpora, Noorbagh, Batapora and Chinkipora.
“These frequent power cuts have become a daily affair. To demand 24×7 electricity is a dream; we just demand regular and scheduled power supply,” said a youth Javid Ahmad of the Jamia Qadeem area.
“Every year, the PDD comes up with an excuse of less generation and more demand. Despite power tariff being raised so many times in the past few years, the department has nothing to offer to its consumers,” he added.
The residents of other areas mentioned above have similar complaints. The locals of some of these areas said they have been facing regular power cuts for the last more than a week despite being metered.
“Despite the department minting huge amounts through electricity bills, we are witnessing just 7 to 8 hours of power supply,” they said.
“In today’s era, there should be an uninterrupted power supply given the cold weather conditions. Now, if the power department wants to curtail, there should be a proper schedule and it should be minimum so that people don’t suffer,” a local from Batapora said.
The local administration had assured of a better power supply with fewer power cuts this winter in the Sopore sub-division.
XEN PDD Sopore, Javeed Ahmed did not respond to repeated calls made by this reporter
