Srinagar: Unscheduled power cuts from past over a week are taking heavy toll on people in the summer capital.
Residents of various Uptown and Downtown areas said power supply is snapped for hours especially during Sehri and Iftar times causing inconvenience to them.
“During the holy month of Ramadhan, authorities used to ensure uninterrupted power supply. It is ironical that this time we are reeling under darkness,” said Amir Rashid, a resident of Downtown.
Meanwhile, dozens of areas that get power supply from Burzahama Hazratbal receiving station said that power cuts has hit their normal life. They said that for the past few weeks the issue has worsened.
“We are unable to understand reason for such power cuts. During April, power supply used to get better, but this time we are facing power cuts. We are unable to carry out our home chores amid power outages,” said Zahid Ahmed, a resident of Shopribagh Hazratbal.
The locals said that during sehri, unavailability of power plunges streets into darkness. “We face problems to reach masjids to offer prayers in pitch darkness,” they said.
Residents and hoteliers of tourist areas including Boulevard, Dalgate and Buchwara also complained of unscheduled power cuts. “Unscheduled power cuts amid peak tourist season is causing immense problems to tourists,” said Aftab Yaseen of Buchwara.
Meanwhile, an official statement said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Muhammad Aijaz Asad Monday chaired a meeting of the concerned officers to review the power supply scenario in the district.
Taking strong note of complaints being received from the public regarding unscheduled power cuts, the DC asked the superintending engineers from KPDCL to look into the matter and make sure that power is supplied to all the households of the district while strictly adhering to the curtailment schedules particularly during Sehri and Iftar.
He also PDD to take prompt measures to ensure the time-bound redressal of the genuine concerns regarding water and power supply.
Chief Engineer KPDCL, Javaid Yousuf Dar told Greater Kashmir that the unseasonal rise in temperature across India has increased demand. “This has affected Kashmir too as gap has been created between demand and supply. There is also some coal supply issue to thermal stations and due to low rainfall in north India, hydroelectricity output has also been affected. Host of issues are reason for power cuts in Kashmir and across India,” Dar added.