Sopore faces power outages, residents suffer

Sopore, Oct 20: Residents of Sopore town are up in arms against the Power Development Department (PDD) as the town faces severe unscheduled power cuts, making life miserable for its inhabitants.

People in this north Kashmir town allege that the Power Development Department does not adhere to the curtailment schedule. “We do not receive proper power supply. Frequent power cuts have become a daily routine now,” said Ishfaq Ahmad Wani, a local resident of Noor Bagh.

"We were preparing for our various upcoming competitive and academic exams, but due to the shortage of power, we face a lot of hardships, particularly during the night hours. We have repeatedly asked authorities to address this problem, but to no avail,” said a group of students.

Residents urged the PDD to strengthen the power supply infrastructure so that the genuine grievances of consumers could be addressed. “Frequent power cuts have made life miserable for the common people, especially students and the business community, as these pesky outages have become a major concern for them.

“What was the point of installing smart meters if they cannot provide us with reliable electricity?” asked another resident of Sopore. “We are only getting 10-12 hours of electricity out of 24, which is not enough to meet our daily needs.”

The situation has worsened over the past month. “Power cuts during the evening hours have made our lives miserable,” residents said. They noted that they pay hefty electricity bills monthly but do not receive scheduled or adequate power supply.

Haji Mohammad Ashraf Ganie, president of the trade body of Sopore, also expressed deep concern over the persistent power cuts in the town. He said that the town does not receive proper power supply as per the schedule and that frequent outages have become a daily affair, especially with winter approaching. He appealed to the government and the PDD to provide electricity according to a proper schedule; otherwise, residents will be compelled to protest.

Executive Engineer of PDD Sopore, Mateen Sherwani, stated that the long duration of power cuts is due to low power availability. He explained, “We are receiving nearly a total of 900 megawatts (MW) against a requirement of 1500 MW.”

He added that a new curtailment schedule is expected to be implemented ahead of the winter season, which may deepen the power crisis. He said that the department is struggling to bridge the gap between demand and supply.