Editorial | Season of power cuts

No matter how much the world radiates with the lights everywhere, Kashmir is preparing for a season of darkness. As the level of water in the rivers recedes the generation of power comes down substantially. Consequently there is less electricity to be distributed among the households and the commercial establishments. The reasons for this shortfall are well known and the problem has been discussed over and over again. But we are no were near any solution to this problem. No matter how much we cry, how much we protest on the streets, write or speak about the problem in the media, there are no chances of the people of this place getting an undisturbed power supply. So do we believe, given the track record. Just a cursory look at how it affects us in every respect would underline the importance of the issue. If the governments keep that in mind, they would keep it at the top of the priority list and follow it till the problem is really solved. The frequent power cuts affect our older people in the families as they need warmth during this season. In absence of this warmth many health related problems arise and our hospitals have to deal with the burden.

The long hours of darkness adversely impact the students who could utilise the winter vacation better if there was uninterrupted power supply. This alone would amount to a huge loss at a collective level. Now take the case of the economy. The industrial sector is totally dependent on power supply. One of the reasons why the industrial sector couldn’t pick up in the Kashmir valley the way it could have. The production lines fail because there is no adequate supply of electricity. The products are not competitive when they are pushed into the market just because disrupted power supply entails alternative arrangements that escalate the prices. Same is the case with the hotel and tourism industry. If we had good electricity supply, our hotels could have good occupancy even during the winter. But unfortunately it is not so. Cumulatively, the costs of disruption in electricity are too high to be ignored. These power cuts turn everything dark.

   

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