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| No meters in KU quarters, get uninteruppted power | | | early times report
Srinagar, Nov 28: While Power Devel-opment Department (PDD) leaves no stone unturned to harass poor people in the name of installing meters in their localities, it seems the Department is afraid to do so with influential and rich people.
Here is an example: The PDD has failed to install meters in hundreds of residential quarters in Kashmir University campus and in University Town Mirza Bagh. Though the quarters are being fed with uninterrupted power supply, the PDD hasn't been able to install meters.
"Last year PDD authorities had decided to install meters in all the residential quarters of the KU. However, due to intervention by a group of influential employees of the KU, the decision was scrapped," an employee of PDD wishing anonymity told Early Times.
He said that most of the employees who reside in the University quarters use heaters, boilers, geysers and other electric gadgets without paying for these. "The KU pays a lump sump amount as electricity charges towards the PDD monthly. But what they pay is very less compared to what is being consumed. If the meters are installed in the residential quarters atleast every family will have to pay more than Rs 3000 as electricity fee according to usage of electricity," he added.
The PDD has some months back asked the consumers to disclose their load under Voluntary Load Disclosure Scheme (VLDS) and failing to do so they were threatened of penalties. The Department has imposed fine of more than Rs three crores this year on the consumers who were allegedly involved in power thefts.
"If poor consumers are being fined why the PDD is afraid of installing meters in Kashmir University? Most of the employees who are putting up in KU quarters get more than Rs 50000 salaries per month but despite that they are being provided almost free electricity at the cost of poor. Why this discrimination," asked Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Lal Bazar.
Sources said the PDD has been soft on influential people while installing meters in their homes. "While the PDD checking squads impose heavy fine if they catch on poor man indulging in power theft, the rich and influential are spared," they said.
"The only reason that Jammu and Kashmir Government has failed to streamline the power sector is that places like Kashmir University residential quarters are being provided almost free electricity. There are dozens of such cases in the state where rich are spared from paying the actual electricity bills," sources revealed.
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