Residents of Rajouri protest power cuts, water shortage

Shyam Sood

Rajouri, January 6

Since the onset of winter, most of the areas in Rajouri district have been facing an acute shortage of electricity and drinking water.

Residents of Rajouri have been holding protests against unscheduled power cuts and shortage of basic amenities. They said the power development department (PDD) was not going as per its power curtailment schedule of 6-8 hours.

People in many areas of the district have been without power for days as the power department has failed to replace or repair the damaged transformers.

“Transformers get damaged mainly due to overloading because a large number of heating gadgets are being used by people in the chilly weather. It takes a few days to get them repaired or replaced,” said King Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer, PDD.

Residents of Dassal and Miari villages alleged that they had been facing difficulties as the power supply had not been restored for the past few days.

“Low voltage and unscheduled power cuts for hours together and snapping of electricity due to technical reasons has created problems for the people of the area. The worst sufferers are the students who are preparing for their final exams,” said Basharat Hussain, a local.

Residents said Assistant Executive Engineer Suresh Kumar had promised them of early restoration of the power supply but they were still reeling in the dark.

As the voltage is low, the public health engineering department is finding it difficult to lift water. As a result, residents are receiving water after two-three days.

“Rajouri district is getting 100 MW against the demand of 140 MW which is the main reason for unscheduled power cuts and low voltage,” said Munshi Khan, Executive Engineer, PDD.