Srinagar, Aug 7: Residents of many areas have accused paramilitary CRPF of disrupting power supply in the city by snapping transmission lines.
 Pestered at the alleged misconduct of the paramilitary force, the Power Development Department (PDD) has taken up the matter with the Divisional Commissioner, Naseema Lanker, who is learnt to have asked the troopers to “exercise restraint” in maintaining law-and-order.
 The aggrieved residents termed snapping of transmission lines as revengeful act on “Zionist lines.”
 Residents of many areas including Eidgah, Batmaloo, Chanapora, Kak Sarai, Zampa Kadal, Shaheed Gunj and Kani Kadal told Greater Kashmir that their areas were plunged into darkness on many occasions during the present unrest.  

MODUS OF OPERANDI
 The PDD, as per sources, has compiled an area wise report of complaints against the CRPF, a charge denied by the paramilitary force.
 The PDD sources said the Chanapora substation was damaged at-least twice in the past fortnight. “They (troops) had de-linked the substation from the transformers plunging the entire area into darkness,” said a PDD employee posted in the area. “The locals informed us that the CRPF men banged lathis on the delicate metal strips connecting to the phase. And as the lines got isolated leading to fault,” the employee, who was a part of the repair team told Greater Kashmir.
 PDD sources said at Zampa Kadal and Kak Sarai receiving stations the low tension side fuses were snapped. “Accused are well versed with the power disruption techniques so much so that they can even hamper the deadly 11000 volt lines, which if disrupted faults the entire feeder,” sources added.
 “Locals told us that troops threw a metal rod up in the air and the moment it touched the HT lines, there was a loud bang and the entire area plunged into darkness,” said a PDD engineer requesting not to be named after repairing a fault on the Hyderpora highway.

BUT THE TROUBLESHOOTING ISN’T THAT EASY.
 At times, the engineers have to check the entire transmission network after inspecting each and every pole: one-by-one.

THE IRONY
 One of the affected receiving stations falls just next to the Police Station Shaheed Gunj. Locals said they accompanied a team of PDD officials to the police station to get a complaint registered against the CRPF. “But before we could enter the police station, a senior cop told that us he was helpless,” the locals said.
 The PDD officials said they had taken up the matter with the district administration but to no avail. Finally, irked at the repeated misconduct, the Chief Engineer, PDD, earlier this week took up the matter with the Divisional Commissioner, Naseema Lanker, at a high level meeting she chaired.
 “The Chief Engineer told her (Div Com) that CRPF allegedly disrupts power supply in civilian areas,” an official privy to the meeting told Greater Kashmir.
 The PDD official supported his argument by an area wise list of disruptions. But the insiders said an armed forces official refuted the complaints saying the PDD was lying. “They (PDD) officials don’t go to office everyday. Just check out duty roaster of civil officials as to how many times they attended their duties during curfew,” the official is understood of have argued. But before the issue would turn into a blame-game, the Divisional Commissioner prevailed.
 “Why will the Chief Engineer tell a lie? Please ask your men to exercise restraint,” Lanker told the official. Her remarks, however, couldn’t be verified as she didn’t respond to phone calls.
 The CRPF pleaded innocence claiming these were “baseless allegations” aimed at tarnishing the image of the disciplined force.

HELP FOR BRETHREN
 The PDD is often accused of being callous towards the people for erratic power supply or delay in repairs of transmission snags. But presently, the department is working almost instantaneously in providing a relief to the affected consumers.
 Every time there was power disruption particular due to the CRPF action, the PDD staff volunteered to get the repairs done quickly even though they had to “risk their lives.”
 “We don’t want our Kashmiri brethren to suffer because of any lapse on our part. They are already being victimized with guns and lathis,” said a PDD employee who repaired the snag at the Shaheed Gunj receiving station.
 “We don’t have any directions from the government on this issue. We are doing it out of our own conscious,” said a PDD official at Civil Secretariat.
 He said in the past 2-months of unrest, the department managed to repair around 500 transformers across the Valley and got them reinstalled quickly.
 “Earlier, there could have been some delay on our part, but this time we are very prompt,” he added.
 Pertinently, the department has managed to ensure power supply to various consumers particularly hospitals with some 1000 employees on duty despite strict curfew. “Power is the backbone of every institution. Imagine what could be the scene if we don’t brave to work in these testing times?” argued an official at Bemina grid.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Aug 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Aug 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Aug 2010 00:00:00 IST