An unnecessary punishment
Sometimes a government proposal is not just bad policy, it is an insult to ordinary people. The idea of charging 20 percent extra for electricity during peak hours feels exactly like that. Though, CM Omar Abdullah now says that there is no such proposal.
Anyone who lives in Kashmir knows what “peak hours” actually look like. They are not hours of bright light, warmth, or comfort. They are the hours when the lights go off, when voltage falls to the level of a dying candle, when families sit wrapped in blankets waiting for the bulb to stop flickering. And now we are being told to pay more for this darkness.
What hurts people is not just the money. What hurts is the feeling that those who make such decisions do not understand how common people live. The labourer who leaves for work in the cold morning needs warm water to wash and a little heat to start the day. The mother preparing dinner in the evening needs electricity in the kitchen. Children studying for exams need a stable bulb to read under. These are not luxuries. These are the basic small comforts that allow a family to live with dignity.
But these are the exact hours when electricity is either gone or delivered at such low voltage that even a heater refuses to turn on. How can anyone justify demanding a surcharge for the very hours when the system fails the most?
The people of Kashmir are tired. Tired of being told to adjust. Tired of being blamed for “high consumption” when half the time there is nothing to consume. Tired of being made to feel guilty for asking for what any citizen anywhere in the world takes for granted — a little light and warm water in winter.
The working class is already squeezed to the bone. The middle class is slowly sinking under rising costs. Families are cutting daily expenses just to survive inflation. Everyone is trying to hold their homes together with whatever they have. And then comes this proposal — not to make electricity cheaper, not to ensure better supply, not to fix the endless power cuts, but to charge more.
There is something deeply unfair about punishing people for using electricity during the only hours they absolutely need it. Morning and evening are not choices for anyone. Life happens in these hours. Schools, work, meals, warmth, bathing, studying, everything. How can you ask people to move these needs to “off-peak hours”? Should children study at midnight? Should people cook dinner at 3 pm? Should families take morning baths at noon? This is not how human life works.
The anger in people’s hearts is not just about policy. It is about being unheard. Electricity in Kashmir is not like it is in the rest of India. Our winter is harsher. Our needs are different. Our reality is different. When meters freeze, homes depend on electric heaters. When pipelines freeze, geysers become lifelines. When sunlight disappears early, light bulbs become the sun inside the house. Without electricity, winter becomes a season of survival, not living.
This is why the proposal feels cruel. It shows no empathy. It does not recognise the hardships. It does not understand the struggle. It does not acknowledge how people stretch every rupee in winter to keep their homes warm. Instead of granting relief, the government is talking about charging extra, 20 percent more, during the very hours when voltage mostly stays at 80 or 100. It feels like asking people to pay for a service they never received.
The truth is simple, Kashmir needs a reduction, not a hike. A compassionate government would say, “Let us support people through winter, not burden them.” A surcharge on darkness is not a policy. It is punishment. Kashmir deserves better, not just better electricity, but better understanding, better sensitivity, and better respect for the daily struggles of ordinary families.
Dr. Ashraf Zainabi is a teacher and researcher based in Gowhar Pora Chadoora J&K
