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| Heavy snowfall, extreme cold proved as a blessing in disguise as much for Azad government as for heating appliances dealers | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | Feb 14
News Analysis
The heavy snowfall, accompanied by avalanches dipping the temperature to minus 10 to minus 20 degree Celsius in Kashmir valley and upper hilly areas of Jammu region, was a blessing in disguise for the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Congress-PDP coalition government as well as the dealers in heating appliances. With natural calamity befalling the state, taking the toll of three dozen human lives and heavy loss to the cattle heads as well as other untold miseries brought about to the common man, with all roads remaining blocked and as a resultant acute scarcity of essential items, diverted the attention of the people at large as well as the opposition National Conference and other groups from their demand for the heads of ministers indicted by the Kundal panel enquiry, holding demonstrations against the Azad government, even some opposition parties demanding imposition of Governor rule in the state. With the entire attention focused on rescue operations of the marooned persons, providing relief to the sufferers as well as airlifting the stranded passengers, the government got some breather from the opposition onslaught. In the face of human miseries of untold magnitude, any political agitation by the opposition parties, would have put them in a defensive position and hence the heat of agitation also turned cold with the weather.
While this was the scenario on the political front, the dealers in heating appliances both in the Kashmir valley and in Jammu had the most of it, with having brisk business. Although weather in Jammu was not so terrible, yet it witnessing unprecedented severity and longer period of cold weather, the electric heaters and hot air blowers were sold in abundance even in Jammu city, with the stocks of the same running out with the dealers. An authorised dealer and distributor of Bajaj Heating Appliances told that he had run out of his stocks of hot air blowers as well as heaters. In view of long curtailments of power supply, scheduled as well as unscheduled, most of the people even went for LPG heaters and blowers, which too had brisk business this season both in Jammu as well as in Kashmir.
However the latest craze with the affluent people, with sound financial position in Srinagar, other towns of the valley and some well to do residents of Doda, Rajouri and Poonch district has been for installing centrally heating system in their households. Kashmiri homes in particular have preference for new technology. During the Chillai Kalan and even afterward when the mercury had dipped to the freezing point some households of the wealthy people continued enjoying the warmth of summer.
In the past few years many families have shifted from the conventional heating arrangements to the comparatively costly central heating system. In Srinagar alone the business of central heating business witnessed a growth of 40% this winter. Till a decade ago the market for this technology did not exist in the valley at all. While in Jammu city as well many homes have shifted to the central heating system from conventional heaters and hot air blowers. Then power curtailment and frequent interruption of power supply is not a big problem, since the central heating system can also run on LPG as also with conventional fuel. The central heating system capable of heating three to four rooms costs between Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh depending on the overall area to be heated. The running cost per season of about four months comes to Rs 20 to Rs 25 thousand, that is Rs 5 to Rs 6 thousand per month, depending on the heating system spam.
With purchasing power of many Kashmiris having received a big fillip in the recent years as well as many families becoming affluent in district head quarters and other towns in hilly areas of Jammu, the trend for installing centrally heating system is picking up fast. |
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