Have conducted inspections in 2 months, tariff increased as per usage: PDD Chief
Gul Owais
Srinagar: The Power Development Department (PDD) has yet again left the consumers in lurch by resorting to ‘unexpected’ hike in monthly electricity tariff in many areas of Srinagar.
The local consumers here have alleged that the department has increased their monthly tariff by almost 60 per cent, thus leaving them in lurch at large.
The people from some of the areas especially Tanki Pora area of Srinagar and Malik Sahib Gojwara Nowhatta said that the department has served them electricity bills a few days ago in which they found that their monthly tariff has been hiked by almost 60 per cent.
“We hardly get electricity nowadays due to unscheduled power cuts, but despite that, the department has increased their monthly tariff, which is nothing less than a shock,” Ali Muhammad, one of the consumers said.
The consumers stated that they find it hard to save so much extra from their meager sources of income and now the hike by the department would not be affordable for them.
“There should have been a proper mechanism in place. Those who fall under Below Poverty Line (BPL) should not be charged a hefty amount as monthly tariff,” the consumers said.
Notably, the hike in the monthly power tariff has also led to the protest a few days back in Tanki Pora area of Srinagar where women took to the streets and blocked the main Habba Kadal-Tankipora road to press for their demands.
The women protesters blocked the road by erecting temporary barricades and were allowing no one to move ahead. The protesters said that the unnecessary hike in the monthly power tariff at this juncture would certainly add to their miseries.
“Nobody has earned a single from last over one year till October ending. We are already facing a financial crunch and how is it possible for us to pay such a huge amount as monthly electricity bills,” they said and demanded immediate redressal of their grievances.
Talking to Precious Kashmir, Chief Engineer PDD, Aijaz Ahmad Dar said that the monthly electricity tariff has been hiked after proper inspections from the last two months.
“The tariff has been hiked according to the usage by the consumers. If anybody has any concern in this regard, he or she should approach the concerned AEE to carry out inspection again so that the tariff for them will be set accordingly,” he said.
