| Power woes deepen, protests against PDD across Kashmir | | | Bashir Assad
Srinagar, Dec 19; Hundreds of people today blocked the Srinagar-Baramulla highway near Bemina on Srinagar outskirts against the erratic power supply to the area. Earlier also people had blocked the highway two days back near Nundreshi Colony Bemina.
The highway blockade caused massive traffic jam in the area.
According to the eyewitnesses the protesters shouted slogans against the Power Development Department for failing to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the area.
Reports of people protesting against the Power Development for erratic power supply from South Kashmir's all major towns and villages are reaching here, however, there is no improvement in the situation.
The massive power curtailment from North to South has forced the people to come on streets and protest against the government in a big way. The massive power curtailment, sometimes for as long as seventeen hours in non-metered areas has irked the people including men, women and children who are frequently coming on streets against the power development department.
The gap between demand and supply, officials say, is also widening. They also say power theft is a massive problem. In a bid to counter the problem, officials from the Power Department are now seeking the help of students to stop power theft, and are visiting different schools to educate children about the proper use of the electricity. Bashir Ahmad Khan, the Chief Engineer, Power Development department says the department is educating children so that they will educate their parents. But Khan's officials on Wednesday, were confronted by angry students who told them about the effect of the power curtailments on their studies and the discriminatory approach adopted by the department in metered and unmetered areas.
"My house gets electricity for two hours a day but the other areas in our locality where meters are installed get at least seventeen hours," Bilal Ahmad, a students told the officials of the power department. Daily power cuts of between 12 to 15 hours are common in Kashmir these days. Keeping warm is a struggle and even kitchen work a difficult chore.
Gul Ayaz, Chief Engineer, Operations, Power Development Department says the budget for procuring energy is limited. He says that last year, the government spent Rs 3,700 crore on electricity but only Rs 1,500 crore was recovered from the consumers. "Now imagine the discrepancy between what we are spending on procuring energy and what we are getting," Gul said. Officials say that the energy requirements of the state are increasing each passing day. The state of Jammu and Kashmir required 9640 million units of energy in the financial year of 2004-05. In 2012 this amount has roughly doubled to around 17823 million units.
The energy deficit which was 2334 million units (24.21 percent) in 2004-05 has also doubled to 6283 million units (35.21%) in 2012-13. The State consumed 11115.41 million units in 2011-12 and 11560.03 million units in 2012-13. The gross per capita energy consumption has nearly doubled in last 15 years, a report said last early this year. But the story of energy crises in the state is also due to the loses in the transmission and distribution. An official of the Power Development Department says during year 2011-12, the PDD lost 415.63 million units during inter-state transmission, 674.69 million units during intra-state transmission and 5758.08 million units as distribution losses. So in terms of transmission and distribution losses, the state of Jammu and Kashmir tops all of India with a loss percentage 61.61, of which 51.80 percent are plainly distribution losses. |
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