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| Jammu consumes less electricity, pays more tariff | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 10: The best reflection of how the ruling political class in Jammu has abandoned the public good in favour of what could be described as personal aggrandizement can be seen in ample measure during the peak of summer. A period when the province reels under the pressure of scorching heat, the handling of the power supply and water supply of the province by the government and the total connivance of the partners from Jammu in the ruling coalition is on brazen display. The sudden power cuts and the voltage fluctuations in the power supply to Jammu province bring such a discomfort to the people that many people on the street say "it is like living in the hell."
Why does Jammu have to bear the burden of almost whimsical power supply during summer when most of the revenue collected as power tariff in the state comes from Jammu province? According to sources, Kashmir, which consumes more electricity both during the winter and summer months pays about 40 per cent revenue in the form of power tariff and Jammu, which consumes less, contributes revenue in the form of power tariff to the tune of 60 per cent. When the electronic metering was done in the state the people of Jammu cooperated like civilized citizens, while there was a lot of resistance to the entire scheme in the Kashmir province. People were told that the "areas that have the proper electronic metering system in tact will have far better, if not totally uninterrupted, power supply." In fact, in the initial stages when electronic meters were being set up people saw that there was a distinct improvement of the power supply to the areas where electronic meters were fully in place. This, in fact, acted as an incentive for all the reluctant localities to come forward and cooperate in the entire process of installation of the electronic meters. But within just a few years the political class, especially those in the ruling parties and the willing or helpless officers of the administration have allowed the whole system to once again "degenerate into a cesspool of corruption and mismanagement."
The respite, which people experienced after installation of electronic meters and paying their electric tariffs in accordance with their consumption, has proved only short lived. The customers who pay their bills duly now say that the "metering system is a device only to make the honest citizen to pay for those who do not want to pay and use electric power illegally."
But the negligence is not the only reason. Politics of discrimination also plays a distinct role in this entire process. As per reports, Kashmir province is getting almost 60 per cent of the power supply even during the summer season. The sensitivity in the administration that more power supply should be given to Jammu during summer no longer exists and politics of hegemony ensures that Kashmir receives more shares during summer as well as the winter. There are many in the administration who privately say the "brazenness of usurping the legitimate share of Jammu even in the area of power supply is so manifest that the Kashmiri officers in the administration are demanding more power supply even beyond the installed capacity in Kashmir. One gentleman said: "we are amazed by this attitude. They want more power supply than they can handle 'do that want the surplus to be supplied to areas across the LOC."
Meanwhile the extreme power fluctuations have been devastating for the power gadgets in the houses of legitimate power consumers who pay from their nose not only for the power which they consume but for the power consumed by illegal consumers. Will the concerned authorities look into the very genuine complaint of the people of Jammu province and ensure that Jammu gets power supply to the extent it needs in summer months and there are no power cuts and fluctuations? |
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