People's Democracy

JAMMU & KASHMIR

CPI(M) Flays Erratic Power Supply, Demands Tariff Holiday

EXPRESSING deep concern over the dissatisfactory power scenario in the Kashmir valley, CPI(M) state secretary Mohd Yousuf Tarigami has called for streamlining of the power supply with strict adherence to the schedule charted out by the power department. He also demanded for operationalisation, without any delay, of the Pampore gas turbine project with installed capacity of 175 MW to tide over the crisis.

In a statement issued from Srinagar on December 13, Tarigami said the department has failed to provide power supply regularly to the consumers despite having hiked the power tariffs. He said it was strange that the citizens of the state are deprived of this basic amenity in chilling winter, adding that extremely low voltage characterises even the scheduled power supply resulting in glowworm-like bulbs in the far-off and rural areas. Demanding tariff holiday for blackouts, the CPI(M) leader said the government can’t charge the consumers arbitrarily. The principle of ‘no power no tariff’ must be adopted, he said ruing that the erratic power supply not only tells upon consumers but also hits the industrial sector, which isn’t picking up in the state and especially in the valley.

Listing the lack of infrastructure as one of the important factors responsible for the worsening power scenario, Tarigami demanded timely completion of the grid and power stations and augmentation of the HT and LT lines. He rued that the Mirbazar grid station, taken up for execution in 2004, is still to be completed despite the availability of finance.

He said the chief minister’s announcement of creating a transformer bank in each district has not materialised either. People continue to suffer for scores of days following the damage to transformers in their localities.

Saying that streamlining the power supply is all the more important for safeguarding the students’ career, Tarigami said on the one hand the government seems to be conscious for the education of students and on the other hand it indirectly makes them suffer for want of power during evening times. “How can a student shape his career without being able to study in the evening time,” he questioned.