Raja Akbar
Srinagar, Mar 11 : Residents of over a dozen villages in the Mawar area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Wednesday accused the Power Development Department (PDD) staff of deliberately disrupting electricity supply, causing immense hardship during the holy month of Ramadan.
Locals alleged that employees at the Grid Station in Audoora Qalamabad were intentionally causing power outages despite consumers paying their bills regularly. The supply disruption was particularly acute on the night of Shab-e-Qadr, one of the holiest nights in Islam.
“We are paying our electricity bills regularly, yet we are not getting power as per the schedule. In the last 24 hours, we have received only five to six hours of electricity,” said Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Audoora.
Villagers reported that areas including Audoora, Qalamabad, Drungso, Nogam, Lawosa, Shahrama, Warpora, Khudi, Haril, Jahama, and Shartgund were facing unscheduled power cuts.
While the exact cause of the disruptions remains unclear, residents claimed that whenever the matter is raised with the department, officials cite technical faults in either the 33 kV or 11 kV lines as the reason for the suspension of power.
Demanding an end to the “deliberate” outages, the affected population urged the PDD to either adhere to the scheduled power supply or cancel their load agreements, stating that the department has failed to provide the service for which they are billed.
Locals have appealed to the administration to intervene and ensure a stable power supply for the remaining days of Ramzan.
PDD officials attributed the outages to technical faults. “There is often a fault in the 33 kV line or the 11 kV line, due to which power supply remains suspended,” an official said, requesting anonymity. (KNS)
