Unscheduled power cuts haunt residents in Kupwara amid harsh winter
Kupwara, Jan 2: The residents of several villages in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have been undergoing significant inconvenience due to unscheduled and prolonged power cuts amid harsh weather conditions.
People from different villages including Karnah, Keran, Machil, Villgam, Kulangam, Jaggerpora, Chogal, Braripora, Natnussa, Kandi, Arampora, Magam, Rajwar, Drugmulla, Haihama, Sulkoot, Regipora, Bohipora, Sogam, Nagri, Tarathpora, Bumhama, Trehgam, Kralpora, Muqam e Shahwali, and other adjacent areas have decried unscheduled power cuts since the inception of winter last year.
A group of residents from Drugmulla expressed their frustration, stating, "Despite the authorities increasing electricity tariffs with promises of uninterrupted power supply, what we are actually experiencing are frequent power cuts." They further explained that after each restoration, power outages occur again within 10 to 15 minutes.
"There is no one to address our concerns, and neither the district administration nor the government holds anyone accountable," they added.
With harsh weather conditions and ongoing examinations, along with others scheduled soon, the situation continues to worsen each day, they lamented.
People said that the power supply has been reduced to only few hours a day in most of the areas for over a month now.
"Only few hours of electricity is being supplied to us causing immense hardships. Even patients dependent on oxygen concentrators also suffer due to lack of regular power supply," a local told Greater Kashmir.
"I believe people of Kupwara happens to be forgotten lot for the concerned authorities. Earlier we were told that after the augmentation of Arampora and Vilgam receiving station, entire district will get substantial electricity but nothing like that happened," he added.
Another local said that erratic power supply has always remained a problem in Kupwara which gets worse in winters.
Even the areas with smart meters are grappling with lack of substantial electricity in the district. "Last year when smart meters were installed in our area, we were promised of substantial electricity but surprisingly only few hours of electricity is being supplied to us," a local from Umer Abad Handwara told Greater Kashmir.
The residents have appealed Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to personally intervene into this pressing issue so that they may get respite.