HMT Zainakote residents protest smart meter installation

Srinagar, Jul 10: Protests against the installation of smart meters hardly seem to be dying down as scores of women in the HMT Zainakote area on Srinagar outskirts came onto streets along with their children against the power department’s move.
The protesters, mostly women, raised slogans “We want justice” and “Do the justice with poor”, and said, “Our men are labourers. We are not even sure whether they will return home earning anything or not,” said a lady.
They said most of the men and youth of the area are either daily wagers or doing private jobs. “We are forced to come on roads as the installation of smart meters and new billing format will be an additional liability for us,” they said.
A local political and social activist of the area, Ghulam Mohammad Alie, told KNO that they are being included in the Srinagar district but their area is still a village and lacks development on many fronts.
“There is no harm in the installation of smart meters, but authorities must know our economic conditions. Are we really in a position to afford the billing through these smart meters? Our area has a lot of poverty and we appeal to authorities to stop it,” he said.
The protesting women said their children are struggling in getting respectable jobs. They said despite the completion of their degrees in various academic streams, they are unemployed.
“When you have young qualified children sitting at home with no jobs in the offering, what does the government expect from us? They will issue diktats and we will accept those? It is better they take all these electric lines with them, but we won’t allow them to install these smart meters,” said another lady.
Since the start of the installation of the smart meters in Srinagar, people have been protesting against the move, while the authorities have been maintaining that the process has already been started and won’t be stopped.
The authorities at Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) earlier said that there was no alternative to the installation of smart meters.