Srinagar: Scores of areas of Burzahama area here on Hazratbal outskirts are reeling under unscheduled power cuts.
Residents of Burzahama and its adjoining areas including Inderhama, Mulphaq, Khimber and Chatrahama fed by Burzaham receiving station are facing inconvenience. They said that for the past few weeks, unscheduled power cuts for hours have made life miserable for them amid scorching heat.
“In addition to power cuts in daytime, we are facing power cuts during the night as well. We are unable to use electronic gadgets including fans to get respite from scorching heat. The area has seen increased power cuts, particularly the area that falls under Burzahama. We hope that officials will look into it,” said Farooq Ahmad, a local.
The locals said that there is no proper schedule for these cuts, and that has made the issue worse. They said apart from hour-long power cuts, there is an overall erratic power supply that affects their day-to-day life.
“On top of hour-long power cuts at multiple times in the day, there are 10-20 minute cuts which add to our woes,” said another local.
The local shopkeepers said that it has affected their work as well. They said amid heat, there is high demand for cold drinks and ice creams, “but defunct refrigerators have created problems with that too.”
“We have to turn away customers because these cold items are not worth selling, and sometimes we avoid keeping perishable stock,” said a shopkeeper in the area.
Executive Engineer Salim Ali said that the overall power supply to the area will stabilise in the next few days.
“The power cut issue is in most of Srinagar areas due to low generation. We rely on power imports, and due to recent floods in J&K and outside, the generation has been affected. In addition to that, there is high demand for electricity which is also the reason. In the next few days, you will see the power supply in the area stabilizing,” Ali said.