Kupwara village without electricity for over 1-year due to damaged transmission lines

Kupwara, Nov 20: The authorities in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have miserably failed to repair transmission lines of Jumagund, a remote village near Line of Control (LoC), with the result the whole village has plunged into darkness for the last one year.

The residents said that following heavy snowfall during last winter, the transmission lines got heavily damaged subjecting locals to enduring hardships.

“We are suffering due to lack of electricity but nothing has been done so far to mitigate our problem. It seems as if we are living in ancient times. We are forced to light our houses by conventional means after sunset,” former Sarpanch of Jumagund Mohammad Sideeq told Greater Kashmir.

“The plight of Jumagund underscores the stark reality of certain remote areas which continue to endure fundamental challenges. The absence of electricity in Jumagund reflects a pressing need for comprehensive solutions to improve living conditions for its residents,” he added.

The residents said that although two big generators have been installed at Jumagund so that the inhabitants would be provided a few hours of electricity but to the utter callousness of authorities these generators have never been put to use due to lack of fuel. “At the time of receiving generators, we were told that till transmission lines are repaired, our area will be provided three hours of electricity every day in the evening but almost a year has passed since then, the generators haven’t been put to use by local officials citing reasons of lack of fuel,” they added.

The residents said that they have moved from pillar to post for redressal of their issue but after the passage of one year their area continuously lies in darkness.

Assistant Executive Engineer Power Development Department (PDD) Trehgam Mohammad Shafi told Greater Kashmir that the transmission line spread over ten kilometers from Puta Khan Gali to Jumagund has completely got damaged. “We have submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to higher ups for repair of the transmission line,” he said.

When asked why the department has failed to repair the transmission line, he cited the reason for the non availability of funds.

Meanwhile Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) Trehgam Mir Safullah acknowledged the hardships being faced by the people of Jumugand in absence of electricity. “I have taken up the issue with the concerned authorities and following release of CDF, I will look into the provision of providing funds to purchase oil for generators so that people may heave a sigh of relief till transmission lines are repaired,” he added.