National Conference General Secretary, Ali Muhammad Sagar on Monday expressed dismay over the prevailing power crises in Kashmir, saying the longer and unscheduled energy cuts have disturbed daily lives of people.
In a statement, Sagar said since October, ever since the J&K administration shut its offices in the summer capital Srinagar to move to winter capital Jammu, the entire Kashmir has plunged into darkness with elderly, students and patients at the receiving end.
While expressing concern over the looming power crises, Sagar said come winters and Kashmir is beset with darkness. He said the scenario has worsened this year.
“The power supply is playing hide and seek and the civil administration has left people to fend for themselves. The hapless consumers don’t know how to brave the ongoing chill with no adequate power supply. The student community has incurred the major hit on account of the approaching exams,” Sagar said.
He said the load shedding schedule has gone for a toss, and most areas were facing day-long outages. “This has never been the scenario with the power distribution in Kashmir. Unfortunately the decreasing governance in Kashmir has coincided with the abrogation of the state’s unique status. Kashmir power shortages stem from a host of factors, ranging from inadequate infrastructure, transmission loss, and increasing usage of the ever growing population. Unfortunately the government has left the entire issue unattended,” Sagar said.
He said nothing substantial has been done to augment the infrastructure since 2014. “What added to the worries of people is the failure of the government to fill the power deficit by channelizing other resources like gas turbines and coal power plants,” he said.