Afaq Bhat
Srinagar, Nov 3: Frequent power cuts in non-metered areas across Kashmir are giving a tough time to consumers.
Residents of many areas in uptown and downtown where meters have not been installed while talking to Precious Kashmir said, “It appears that winter is going to be dark this year. For the past fortnight we have been facing unscheduled power cuts. When we approached the officials of the Power Department they told us that the power cuts will increase in the areas where meters have not been installed.”
They said, “The Power Department should come out with a clear curtailment schedule rather than snapping the electricity as per their whims and wishes.”
An official of the Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited told this newspaper that “Only those areas are witnessing power cuts where there are no meters. In metered areas power curtailment is negligible. If people want electricity they should cooperate with the administration and allow it to install the meters.”
He said, “The plan to install smart meters has almost been finalized and the process will commence this month. If people want uninterrupted electricity they will have to pay for it. People need to understand that the electricity is fast turning into a service like other paid commodities.”
Farooq Ahmed, a resident of Mehjoor Nagar said, “The government should understand that people are finding it very hard to make their ends meet. If electricity becomes dearer it will put extra burden on a common man.”
He said, “Many areas like Mehjoor Nagar are non-metered that doesn’t mean that the denizens of these areas will be deprived of the electricity. Srinagar is not a metropolitan city and before taking difficult decisions the government should assess the per capita income of the people.”
Ahmed said, “Everyone is not rich in Kashmir. Many of us have to earn daily to feed our families. We cannot afford extra burden at this point of time.”
Residents of Old City said, “Power cuts are nothing new in winter. We face these every year but this time the situation has worsened much before the winter has arrived. We are used to these hardships. We won’t allow the Power Department to blackmail us on the pretext that no meters are installed in our areas. When metering was done we had opposed the move and we will continue to do the same as we have been witnessing tremendous losses during the past years.”
