Srinagar, Dec 25: Summer Capital’s commercial hub –the Lal Chowk –is up in arms against the “deteriorating power supply” with the traders’ fraternity threatening to launch a roadside agitation should the government fail to provide uninterrupted power supply “as happened in the previous regimes.”
 Irked at the pesky power supply, the Lal Chowk Traders Association (LCTA), convened a high meeting with the president Mushtaq Ahmed Bazaz in chair wherein it was resolved that the entire business community in the area should support the peaceful agitation if the government fails to meet their demand of uninterrupted power supply.
 An LCTA handout said the business activities at Lal Chowk have been “badly affected by the poor supply.”
 While hailing the previous governments, Bazaz said, they “ensured uninterrupted power supply to the trader centre.”
 “This was because the previous governments did endorse the importance of Lal Chowk as a trade centre and also for its historicity.”
 Taking a dig at the NC-led regime, he said: “The present government has failed to ensure the uninterrupted facility.”
 He demanded an end to “any curtailment schedules henceforth” adding that uninterrupted supply was the only respite, which can benefit the business community.
 “Otherwise, presently were at total loss,” he said adding Lal Chowk traders top the list of sales tax payers.
 Bazaz said if their demand wasn’t met, the traders would take to streets. “The protests will be very much within the legal and the democratic framework but we won’t desist from exercising our rights to press for the genuine demands,” he maintained.
 Talking to Greater Kashmir, the LCTA President said, the business community would leave their routine work to press for their demands.
 “We will start with burning of candles and subsequently intensify it by way of roadside Dharnas near Ghanta Ghar,” he said.
 Bazaz said for the past five years the power supply had been so good that the Lal Chowk traders had given up using generators.
 “We had been using gadgets which need 24*7 supply,” he said. 
 Bazaz said apart from power, the City centre was facing problems due to “misgivings of Srinagar Municipal Corporation in ensuring proper sanitation”
 “Traffic mess is another problem which has badly affected our business,” he added.
 Meanwhile, the LCTA meeting, as per the association, handout was attended by all the 22 Executive Council members including Chief Spokesperson Parvez Ahmed Rather, General Secretary Noor Ud Din Mattoo and Vice President Muhammad Yousuf Khan.
 The association has appealed the traders’ fraternity to be ready to support any protest program should the government fail to meet their demand.
 The meeting appealed Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah and the local MLA, Nasir Sogami to intervene at an earliest.
 Pertinently, the summer Capital is facing severe power problem this winter with the Power Development Department resorting to frequent power cuts even beyond the scheduled curtailment.
 For now leave apart the non metered areas, even the metered colonies are facing “long power cuts” with the consumers complaining that power remains off for most part of the day.
 Even though the Chief Minister has been repeatedly directing the Power Development Department to adhere to schedule, the PDD apparently failed.
 The PDD officials plead that there was a demand supply gap of some 500 Megawatts as the Valley was able to manage getting mere 800 Megawatts of power against the 1300 Megawatts of “unrestricted requirement.”
 With the summer capital, as per the consumers, facing the worst the problem, the plight elsewhere in the Valley could only be imagined!

Lastupdate on : Sat, 25 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 26 Dec 2010 00:00:00 IST