Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, 22, Dec
Shiv Sena Hindustan J&K President Pt Rajesh Kesri on Sunday claimed that with the onset of winter, the unscheduled power cuts increased woes of several villages in border areas during a press conference in Arnia today. Addressing media persons, he alleged that unscheduled power cuts have increased their problems and the Power Development Department (PDD) is not taking effective steps to improve the electricity supply as a result of which, there is outrage among the people towards the department.He said that it gets dark in these areas as soon as sunlight fades away in the evening. The days are short in winters and it gets difficult to perform daily chores. Also people rely heavily on electric heaters and warm blowers to heat up there household. Absence of electric power also hampers their functioning which results in locals being exposed to severe cold weather which sometimes drops considerably during night time.The students of this border belt are the worst sufferers as lack of electricity disrupts their study routine. He alleged that hundreds of rupees are paid as an electricity bill every month by the poor people of this border belt, despite this PDD has failed to provide people with this basic right of uninterrupted power.He urged District Administration and senior officials of the concerned department to take immediate steps to improve the power supply in this area as soon as possible. Kesri observed that Jammu and Kashmir is facing significant challenges with electricity supply as winter sets in, leading to widespread dissatisfaction among residents. Residents across various locales, especially border areas, have expressed their frustration over what they describe as relentless power cuts. Many have accused the power department of failing to adhere to the published curtailment schedules, which were meant to mitigate the impact on daily life. “It seems like there’s no consistency; power is out for hours, often without notice,” stated Kesri, highlighting the unpredictability of the situation. The impact of these outages is especially severe during winter, when cold temperatures become unbearable without heating. The challenge is not just limited to border areas; multiple regions across Jammu and Kashmir are experiencing similar issues. Locals have complained about the power department’s lack of accountability, with some claim it feels like decisions are made on the fly, without proper communication or structure. Kesri said that residents are puzzled by the fact they have been equipped with smart meters and upgraded infrastructure, yet the outages persist. Community members, particularly business owners, are feeling the heat from these outages, finding it increasingly difficult to maintain client relationships without consistent power supply. The customers aren’t just inconvenienced; economic impacts are very real as sales dip and operations become less reliable.While the government works to combat these challenges, such as holding meetings to improve efficiency and revenue realization within the power sector, skepticism remains among locals who have witnessed repeated power shortages and inconsistent updates. “There’s little faith left in the officials to provide real solutions,” said another resident, already resigned to the power cuts.While metered areas are witnessing unscheduled power cuts, the unmetered areas, particularly villages, are witnessing power outage for longer hours.Prominent among those present on the occasion include Balveer Kumar, Balwant Saini, Rajkumar Baba, Sanjeev Sharma, Rajesh Kumar, Suresh Kumar, Om Prakash, Satpal Fauji, Bunty Kumar, Darshana Devi, Vijay Devi, Rajni Devi,.