CM tries to cool down hot Jammu

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 24

With massive protests being organised in Jammu against collapse of water and power infrastructure in summer, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today rushed to the winter capital to save the situation from worsening further.

Realising the importance of resolving the prevailing crises immediately to give some respite to people in the hot weather, the Chief Minister reached Jammu this morning.

She convened a meeting of senior officers of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Power Development Department (PDD) to take some steps to improve the situation to some extent.

Ironically, a majority of BJP ministers, who are representatives of people of Jammu, are enjoying the cool climes of the Kashmir valley. Not only BJP ministers, but most party legislators are enjoying pleasant weather of the Valley as well.

The Chief Minister managed some time from her busy schedule on the eve of the crucial Budget session to take first-hand appraisal of the power and water supply position in the Jammu region in view of the sweltering heat wave conditions.

During the meeting, Chief Minister asked the PDD to avoid unscheduled power cuts, especially during peak hours, so that people were not put to any inconvenience. She said consumers should be informed in advance about the power curtailment schedule, if any, during an exigency.

She stressed better synergy between the PDD and PHE Department to avoid system breakdown, which often led to disruption of water supply in and around Jammu city. She asked the PDD to instal additional capacitors and transformers wherever required to avoid system breakdown.

She called for removal of illegal power connections, if any, from dedicated PHE feeders, which was one of the major causes for system breakdown due to overload. She sought cooperation of people in this regard.

The Chief Minister called for expediting work under the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP) to augment the power supply position in the state.

She said implementation of the RAPDRP would go a long way in improving the power supply position in the state. She said consumers were put to immense inconvenience because of distress cuts and low voltage.

“While people are facing a lot of inconvenience due to power outages during the sweltering summer heat in Jammu region, those in Kashmir are facing similar hardships during the harsh winter,” she said.

She added that implementation of the RAPDRP would, to a great extent, streamline the power distribution mechanism in the state.

The Jammu region witnessed massive protests against water and power crises in the region. The border town of RS Pura observed a complete shutdown against power curtailments.

All shops and business establishments were closed and people took out a rally, raising slogans against the authorities. Similar protests were held in different areas of the region, which experienced the worst-ever power and water crises.