Electricity, road connectivity snapped in Uri villages

Baramulla, Feb 3: The recent heavy snowfall in the Uri area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district has plunged residents into severe hardships, with electricity snapped in several areas and road connectivity severely affected.

Over a dozen villages, including Chotali, Maidanan, Darakunjan, Gawalta, Kamalkote, Nambla C, Balkote, Bujthala, Lachipora, Maya, and Kathil remained disconnected from the Uri tehsil headquarters. The challenging situation has left locals grappling with unending problems.

Informing about the difficulties faced by the locals, Shabir Ahmad of Churanda said, “The area has been reeling under darkness for the last two days, and road connectivity has not yet been restored, confining people to their houses.”

Assistant Executive Engineer, KPDCL, Uri, Shazia Akhtar said that road connectivity in some upper reaches of Uri was affected, making it challenging for field staff to reach the affected sites.

She said that efforts were going on round-the-clock to restore electricity promptly.

“As of now, electricity has been restored in most parts of the area. However, there are some villages in the upper belt where road connectivity has been affected. The field staff is working tirelessly to reach such places affected by heavy snowfall. We are hopeful that electricity will be soon restored in these villages, possibly by evening,” Aknhtar said.

National Conference District President, Sajad Ahmad, a resident of Uri, urged the Lieutenant Governor’s administration to prioritise restoring road connectivity and electricity on a war footing.

He stressed that the majority of the Uri population resides in the upper reaches, and these areas are most affected due to roadblocks and power outages.

“Scores of villages in the higher reaches here are without electricity. Besides, roads have not been yet cleared of snow, resulting in people facing hardships,” Ahmad said.

Assistant Executive Engineer, PMGSY, Uri, Zahoor Ahmad told Greater Kashmir that efforts were underway to restore road connectivity to the cut-off villages.

He said that while many roads had been cleared, work on the remaining routes was going on with expectations that improved weather conditions would facilitate complete clearance of snow-covered roads.