The residents of Malik Sahib Gojwara area of Downtown here have expressed resentment against arbitrarily increase in power tariff since November.
According to locals, they were not notified before the authorities increased their electricity tariff.
“Some people used to pay Rs 700, other Rs 370 per month. However since November this year the amount has been doubled for everyone,” Azad Ahmad, a local said.
“They have increased the curtailment hours and its more in non-metered areas compared to metered areas. It is ironical that now they have increased the tariffs also,” he said.
“The continuous lockdowns had already hit us economically and now as the winters are here, we have no hope of revival of our economy until summer. How are we going to pay this huge amount of money?” Azad said.
The area comprises mainly of people from lower strata of the society, who find it difficult to make their ends meet. “I own a little shop and after two continuous lockdowns, I had no money to run it, so I took a loan from the bank. What am I supposed to do with a little amount of money I earn? Shall I feed my family, repay my debt or pay the huge amount for electricity bill,” said Abdul Rehman, a local.
Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of the area, Mir Shahnawaz, said that he has increased the tariff after it was discussed in the meetings with his seniors.
When asked to provide the government order to increase the tariffs, the AEE said that he couldn’t locate the order. “We have only increased tariffs for some houses and will be providing Below the Poverty Line benefits to the majority of the houses,” he said.
Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) Chief Engineer, Aijaz Ahmad Dar said, “we don’t need orders to increase the tariffs.” “This is a corporation now and our salaries depend on the money generated,” he said.
“There is too much load shedding and people are not ready to pay for what they utilize. We used to charge people for only 0.75 KiloWatts (KW) which has now been increased to 1KW. The lower strata of the society have been kept in view when increasing the tariffs, they won’t be charged for more than 1KW,” Dar said.