72-hour power outage cripples Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, parts of Jammu
Rajouri, Aug 31: Normal life across Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, and parts of Jammu district has been thrown out of gear as a major power shutdown stretched into its third day Sunday, leaving hospitals, households, and businesses struggling with a prolonged blackout.
The disruption was caused after a 220 KV main transmission tower suffered damage at Jagti in Udhampur on Thursday, and authorities took an urgent shutdown scheduled from 06 AM on Friday to 06 PM on Saturday on a continuous basis.
As per this shutdown, the department snapped supply to the main grid feeding electricity to the three districts and parts of Jammu.
Since then, the areas have been plunged into darkness.
Officials of the Power Development Department (PDD) said that limited supply under the essential category has been diverted to Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, but the rest of the region is facing a severe power crisis.
Earlier, the department had assured restoration by Saturday evening, but even by Sunday evening at 08 PM, when this report was filed, the power remained out, leaving residents in despair.
Hospitals across Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi, except those at district and sub-district headquarters, are struggling without electricity, severely hampering medical services.
Patients, especially those in need of emergency care and critical equipment, are the worst affected by the prolonged blackout.
With more than 99% of households now without backup, inverters have drained out, cutting people off from charging their essential gadgets, including mobile phones, at a time when weather-related challenges are already gripping Jammu and Kashmir.
In many localities of Rajouri and Poonch, residents have arranged generators on a private basis to manage electricity, but the high cost of fuel has made it difficult for families to sustain.
"I have a small baby at home who spent the last two sleepless nights due to hot and humid conditions as our inverter drained, and the wait for power restoration is unending," said Manjot Singh of Nowshera.
He said he had arranged a private generator from a shopkeeper to run some fans in the night.
Children, elderly citizens, and patients are emerging as the worst sufferers in this prolonged crisis.
Due to complete darkness, people are forced to resort to traditional means like torches and oil lamps to manage daily movement.
The prolonged blackout has triggered growing public concern and highlighted the urgent need for early restoration.
"On one hand our army troops are laying a 110-foot-long Bailey bridge within 12 hours, and on the other hand our department is unable to repair a tower even after three days, and this is not less than an irony," said Mohammad Mujtaba of Poonch.
On being contacted, Executive Engineer Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited Rajouri, Mohammad Rashid, informed us that the repair work was being done by the Transmission Division and the Power Distribution wing had not much role in it.
He, however, said, "Our men are working round the clock and making the best possible efforts to restore electricity within the shortest possible time."
The electricity in the entire Rajouri, Poonch, and Reasi districts, as well as parts of Jammu, could not be restored despite a gap of 74 hours when this report was filed on Sunday late evening.
