Women in Kulgam protest installation of smart meters, fear high bills

Kulgam: Scores of women on Saturday gathered at a market place in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and protested against the installation of smart meters in the area.

Raising slogans against the installation of meters, the protesting women said that they would not allow authorities to install these devices.

“We are poor people and are struggling to make ends meet. How can we foot the huge power bills?” asked a woman protester. She said that the rising inflation had begun gnawing at people.

“Under such circumstances, how could we pay high power bills dispensed by the smart meters”, she said.

The protesters said that they were groaning under the crushing debts and the smart meters could only exacerbate their financial woes.

The protesters blocked the hospital road before they dispersed peacefully.

They appealed to the LG administration to stop the installation of smart meters.

Last week, several members of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Youth Federation (JKDYF), a youth wing of CPI (M) took out a protest march from the party office to Mini Secretariat against the installation of smart meters and ballooning youth unemployment.

Abbas Rather, vice president of JKDYF and DDC member denounced the government for installing the smart meters and its failure to create enough employment opportunities for the youth.