Come winter and power supply is the most sought after thing. In fact winters would not be the winters that we have here if only there was uninterrupted power supply. But that seems a far cry; an impossibility. What people expect, at least, is that the department improve its performance, and provide electricity for a reasonable time length. It also means that the cuts and outages are scheduled, and rationalised. But the case here is that as the winters started, and a slight snowfall announced its early arrival, people have been subjected to frequent and unscheduled power cuts. This has made life miserable here in Kashmir, and other cold regions abutting Kashmir valley. The scale of hardships that it causes is not something one needs to explain. We are now increasingly dependant on electricity. Our routine is determined by the supply of power. We wake up, prepare our children foe school, do the things in the morning, and all this is contingent on electricity. Our household chore is entirely dependent on electricity. Don’t forget that this is our season for exams, and our students have to put in extra effort in their studies. Without electricity everything turns upside down. If this is the case, then these frequent and unscheduled power cuts are nothing shot of violating the basic rights of the humans living in this unfortunate land of ours. Those who are responsible for providing power must be held responsible for this. And the political leadership that talks so much in the public domain about Kashmir being resourceful in terms of the potential of producing electricity, also need to respond to the public outcry on this matter. If the the state human rights commission has asked the government’s power development department to explain frequent and unscheduled power cuts in Kashmir, it is just the echo of what people have been crying for day in day out. Fact of the matter is that from political leadership, to the high level officials, everyone is responsible for this mess, and all must be summoned to explain the matter.
Power Outages
