Saahil Suhail ,Anantnag, Nov 19: An unscheduled and deliberate power cut have haunted different areas of South Kashmir and has once again left the areas in dark, forcing people to kick off protests against the department.
People in District Anantnag’s Khiram area today staged a protest against the government and power development deportment, raised anti-slogans and locked receiving station Khiram in the early morning by which the whole area getting its power supply from receiving station got affected.
Protesters levelled strong allegation on PDP MLA and NC MLC for politicizing the issue and said that both of them are using such issues for their vote bank politics.
“It is very unfortunate that both MLA and MLC are doing politics on the issue and they are very much concerned about their vote banks.” Said one Mustaq Ahmad, adding that both of them are only visiting the station and every day they are making announcements on Radio and Television about the up gradation but nothing has been done on ground.
He said, “Right now Receiving station is facing technical difficulties and the deportment is little bothered about these difficulties and political people are also creating hurdles in the process as one active political worker told me that the process of replacing main panel was stopped by the political leader representing Bijbehara Constituency.”
Protesters also alleged that the deportment is not providing scheduled power supply to them from last few months that has left the whole area in dark and has badly affected the students who are currently facing examination season in the area.
Receiving Station Khiram, inaugurated in 2000 is having capacity of 6.3MWA is currently feeding more than 30 villages in the area hence remains overloaded since from 2007, for which people residing in those villages have made written requests to the concerned department for the up gradation of the receiving station but till time nothing has been done in this regard.
“Astonishingly main panel system of the receiving station got damaged before months but till time department didn’t succeed in replacing the system that adds to the sufferings of common masses.” alleged, Farooq Ahmad, a resident of Khiram village.
Sources inside the department said that the department is deliberately creating problems regarding receiving station Khiram as months before orders were passed for the replacement of the main panel for which people are is still awaiting!
Protesters were pacified by the Chief Engineer, PDD who talked to protesters over telephone and assured them that the problems regarding receiving station Khiram will be addressed on priority bases.