Srinagar, Jan 6: Despite passing of two months, dozens of households at Gousia Colony, Ibrahim Colony and Bag-i-Bilal colony in Burzahama area on city outskirts are reeling under darkness due to damaged transformer.
The locals said that the overloaded transformer has been damaged six times in over a month as authorities are sitting on the issue. They said that they are also face low voltage issue.
To mention, the power tariff was hiked twice in the locality in less than a year and still the area is reeling under darkness.
“Years back, the transformer was installed for half of the households than what it is catering to today. Every year, dozens of new houses are added while the capacity of the transformer is the same. We have elderly patients at home and young kids suffering for a long time. The transformer doesn’t operate for more than three days due to the huge load on it. We and not been able to use hot water or any other facility properly since the onset of winter,” said Sajida Begum, a local.
The locals said that authorities assured them for a year that one of the colonies, Bag-i-Bilal colony, would be allotted a new transformer so that the power load would be reduced, but nothing has happened.
On Friday, the transformer was again damaged just a day before it was repaired following which locals of the area staged protest. The aggrieved residents blocked the main road of Burzahama while appealing to authorities to address the issue. Later, police from Zakura police station rushed to the spot and pacify the locals who had observed a sit-in at the transformer site near receiving station Burzahama.
“Our life has become miserable due to the issue. We are paying hefty fees, but we have been reeling in darkness for months now. After every three days, the transformer is damaged or worn out wires fall. We want authorities either to solve our issue, or we will not end the protest,” said Irfan Ahmad, a local.
The locals said that the studies and office work of many youngsters who work from home are getting affected. They said they have to go to other localities to charge their cellphones and Led Lanterns while authorities are sitting on the issue.
Chief engineer of KPDCL assured to look into the issue. “We will look into the issue as this has already been brought to our notice. I have also discussed this issue with the higher officials, and we will soon find a way to install a new transformer in the area. Meanwhile, people should also avoid using second service line and crude gadgets as these are the main reasons for overloading,” said Salim Mir, Executive Engineer of the area.