Sajid Raina
Bandipora, Jan 24: Several villages of northern Kashmir’s Bandipora district have been witnessing protracted power outages for more than the last few weeks, causing severe hardships to the residents in the area.
Residents of several villages including, Arin-Dardpora, Sumlar, Chuntimulla, CA Khan, Gundpora, Gamroo and other adjoining areas complained that they were only getting a few hours of power supply and had to deal with long power cuts during the peak hours as the Power Development Department (PDD) was not following any schedule.
They further alleged that they are not getting the electricity as per schedule despite paying their regular tariff bills as the electric supply remains shut during the day time while long and unscheduled cuts are witnessed in the evenings.
They also said that they are hardly getting a few hours of electricity and added that the department is sending them hiked up electricity bills. “The pesky power cuts have been troubling us for a long time. Despite footing our power bills on time, we get poor supply,” said a local, from Gamroo village.
Mushtaq Ahmad, another local resident of Arin said that the area has a huge population but is neglected by the authorities as the area remains without electricity most of the time.
Suhail Ahmad, another local, said that the PDD is not serious enough to address the issue.”We have to beg by calling them everyday for electricity,” he said.
The residents of these areas urged authorities to provide them with electricity as per schedule so that they will not face these inconveniences.
