Srinagar, Oct 19:  As students are appearing in exams, the densely populated old City is facing “worst of the power trouble” this year even as the winter is yet to arrive and Durbar is still in the summer capital.
 The residents of Shahr-e-Khaas said they hardly get three to four hours of power supply a day while the plight is no different in the night hours. They accused the coalition government of putting them to “deliberate trouble” by going for long power cuts at a time when most of the students are appearing in exams, which obviously means power cuts could affect their study schedule.
 Greater Kashmir received complaints from most of the old City areas like Nowhatta, Naid Kadal, Zaina Kadal, Aali Kadal, Fateh Kadal, Nawa Kadal, Eidgah  and Habba Kadal that the power cuts are bringing inconvenience for the Srinagarites of these areas.

LOCALS AGHAST
 The residents of Naid Kadal are up in arms against the government for failing to provide “decent power supply.”
 “On one hand this government claimed that extra-attention would be paid towards the old City, but the fact remains that we are the most deprived lot,” said a delegation of locals from the area adding that the government was forcing them back to the “lantern era”.
 The residents of Nawa Kadal said their problem has been compounded by the snag in the colony transformer. “We are without power for the past  four days,” the locals said.

TRADERS IRKED
 For the old City’s volatile hub, Nowhatta, the power problem, as per the traders, is so immense that they recently held an emergency meeting with Traders Federation Nowhatta President Javed Ahmed Zargar in chair.
 “It was amicably resolved that the Shahr-e-Khaas is facing worst of the power crisis even though the harsh winter is yet to start. Not only is the domestic life affected but even the business is in red because of the problem,” Zargar told Greater Kashmir.
 “We fail to understand why so much of power cuts at the time when most of the students are appearing in annual exams?” he asked.
 “If the supply isn’t improved we will be left with no options but to sell lanterns alone. But that too could be tough because it’s difficult for common man to afford K-oil these days,” said a trader of the historic Jamia Masjid market.

JAVED MIR CONCERNED
 Interestingly senior separatist leader and Vice-Chairman of a JKLF faction, Javed Ahmed Mir, who too lives in Shahr-e-Khaas links the power problem with the “execution of Zionist policy”
 “Israel did the same what now state government is doing with we Kashmiris by resorting to cruel power cuts,” Mir alleged. He said there should be a “unified voice of the people to get rid of this power crisis”. 

MAINSTREAM 50/50
 While some voices in Congress have expressed concern over the power situation, its coalition partner National Conference, which bagged all the eight constituency seats in the last Assembly elections from the City, is seemingly silent over the issue.
 While youth Congress leader Irfan Naqeeb has expressed “serious concern over deteriorating power supplies”, nobody from the National Conference including “erstwhile voice of Shahr-e-Khaas” Ali Muhammad Sagar has uttered a word about the issue.

POWER PROBLEM
 Pertinently for the past over a fortnight there has been a drastic decline in the power imports from the Northern Grid due which the supply has got directly affected.
 “We can’t over draw power or ask for more at this time of juncture due to constraints at the northern grid,” said a senior PDD official requesting not to be named.
 He, however, refuted that the power supply was “so bad as people have complained of.” “They get around 10 to 14 hours of supply a day. Moreover such areas are bound to bear cuts because they aren’t metered as yet,” the official said.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 IST