Local residents hold protest against installation of smart meters in Handwara

Kupwara, July 31: Residents of Banday Mohalla in the main town of Handwara Monday staged a protest against the installation of smart meters saying that the move by Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) was against the common people.

Scores of women assembled on Banday Mohalla link road to protest against the KPDCL officials who had arrived there for installation of smart meters. The protesters said that they belong to poor families and cannot afford smart meters, which they said generate exorbitant bills.

“We have been paying monthly flat bills to the tune of Rs 1200-1400,” said a woman protestor, adding that they won’t be able to afford exorbitant bills being generated by smart meters.

“We are unable to figure out why the government is adamant to take anti-people measures. If the Aam Aadmi Party is providing free electricity upto 200 units to people in Delhi, why can’t we be provided free electricity,” said another woman.

“Our own electricity is being taken to other states of the country and we are left with a begging bowl. It is an injustice to the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the electricity being generated here is bought at cheaper rates and sold at exorbitant rates back to the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” she added.

Later in the day, a similar protest was registered by people in Zargar Mohalla where scores of women assembled near Jamia Qadeem and raised slogans against the installation of smart meters.

Pertinently the move by the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) to install smart meters is facing stiff resistance across Kashmir. It may be recalled that LG Manoj Sinha recently said that the installation of smart meters was the need of the hour for 24×7 electricity.