SRINAGAR, Mar 19: Staging protests against the non-availability of water and electricity, the residents of the Pandach on the City outskirts Friday blocked the Srinagar-Leh highway.
 After the congregational Friday prayers, the residents took to streets and blocked the road, which lead to the suspension of vehicular movement for around an hour.
 Raising anti-administration slogans, the protesters demanded the repairs of damaged transformer and the restoration of the potable water for which they said “We pay bills on the regular basis.”
 “There is a single transformer of 100 KV feeding around 120 households and in this month alone it got damaged trice,” said the residents of Krala Mohalla, Pandach.
 “We time and again requested the authorities to provide us a new 250 KV transformer to withstand the load but our repeated requests proved futile and now we are being left with no option than to come on the streets to press for our demands,” the protesters said.
 They said their children who are preparing for different examinations have been the worst sufferers of the problem.
 The residents said they were also facing shortage of potable water.
  “Potable water and the electricity are the two basic day to day necessities which we are not being provided adequately and it appears as if we are living in Stone Age,” the protesters said.
 The protesters were later pacified by the SHO Soura who reached the spot. 
 Superintendent Engineer, Power Development Department Muzaffar Matto told Greater Kashmir the damaged transformer would be repaired within two days.
 The Superintendent Engineer, PHE, Javeed Jafar said the area was being fed from Alasteng water reserve adding that they could be facing shortage at times.
 “They (residents) want supplies from Rangil, which we plan to start from next month,” he said.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:00:00 IST