Srinagar areas reel under unscheduled power cuts

Srinagar, Dec 13: Residents of various areas of the summer capital have complained of unscheduled power cuts saying this causes inconvenience to them.

“Despite the installation of meters, we are facing power cuts. In non-metered areas of Srinagar, including Downtown, there are regular power cuts. We are unable to use gadgets to get respite from freezing cold. There are patients and children in homes who are bearing the brunt of power outages,” said Asim Ahmad, a local from Downtown.

The residents of Hazratbal outskirts like Burzahama, Chatrahama, Khimber, Mulphaq, also complained of scheduled power cuts. The aggrieved residents said despite a sharp rise in power tariff, power cuts have increased.

“For the past few months, there have been frequent day-long shutdowns due to maintenance and other issues, which have added to our problem. We are not in the metered area, and we are paying over Rs 2000 rupees as a power bill per month. Given the power we are receiving, we won’t even have to pay half of it if our area would have been metered. We appeal to authorities to look into the issue in these neglected areas,” said Ghulam Mohi-ud-din, a local from Hazratbal outskirts.

The traders in these areas also said that power outages are affecting their work on daily basis. They said shops and different workshops in these areas have been rendered defunct due to power outages which is also inflicting a financial loss on them.

A senior official from KPDCL said that they had framed a proper curtailment schedule for metered and non-metered areas in Srinagar. He said the department has also purchased more electricity to ensure better supply.

“We have several areas which have 24/7 supply and some have scheduled cuts as per requirement. Sometimes, the demand peaks, and we have to go for cuts. There are also maintenance-related power cuts that are necessary. Given the lack of precipitation, the flow of rivers has decreased and that has also impacted the power supply,” said the official.