Uri village reels under darkness for over 1-year due to damaged transformer

Uri, Oct 26: Residents of Bani Charunda village along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district have been living in darkness for over a year due to officials’ failure to repair their damaged transformer.

Locals told Greater Kashmir that they have been suffering from a lack of electricity.

“Our 25 KVA transformer was first damaged in 2022, and it took several months to repair it. However, it got damaged again in July 2023 and is yet to be repaired, forcing us to remain in darkness,” said Mohd Hanief, a resident.

He noted that their area, which consists of over 30 households, has been connected to the electricity supply from a nearby transformer in Lopara village.

“Unfortunately, that transformer is unable to handle the load for our area, leaving us in the dark. This has been going on for the past year, and no one is addressing our problem,” he added.

Residents alleged that the damaged transformer is lying on the roadside, and no power department official is willing to retrieve it for repairs. “They have told us to take care of it ourselves,” they said.

They further claimed that the department had promised an upgrade to a 63 KVA transformer, but to date, they have not received it.

“Since we don’t have electricity, why are we still being charged monthly bills of up to Rs 1,000?” they questioned.

It is noteworthy that the Superintending Engineer (SE) KPDCL Circle Sopore wrote to the Executive Engineer Baramulla division in October last year, granting permission for the augmentation of the 25 KVA transformer to a 63 KVA transformer for the villagers. However, no action has been taken since then.

Residents have appealed to the MLA Uri and the SE KPDCL Circle Sopore to prioritise this pressing issue.

An official from the power department in Uri informed Greater Kashmir that the earlier transformer could not be provided due to its unavailability in the divisional workshop. “We will raise this issue again with the higher-ups,” he stated.