Anantnag: Putting lives at risk, the Power Development Department (PDD) has run the 33KVA charging lines through residential areas, in close vicinity to the 11KVA lines, for a newly constructed receiving station here in Anantnag district.
The Aad-Khposhipora receiving station, with a total capacity of 6.3 Mega Watts (MW), was inaugurated on Tuesday, and is touted to end the power woes of as many as five villages, including Damhal, Khoshipora, Palpora, Hakura, and Gound.
“These villages remained dependent on far-off Hilar receiving station and faced acute power shortage, especially during the winter months, given the burden Hilar receiving station faced,” a source in the department said.
While the residents of these villages are ecstatic, at the same time they share the concerns of many other villages regarding safety of the people. The PDD has callously run the high-voltage 33KVA charging lines through more than half a dozen villages, including Hilar, Badazgam, Dehruna, Hakura, and Khoshipora.
“They have put lives in danger. We now realize how grave this issue is,” the residents of these villages said.
Sources in the department also acknowledge the looming danger. “To put it mildly, it is a disaster in the making,” a source in the department said. “Can you image what happens if a tree falls on the 33KVA line, given that trees are in abundance in the area? I shudder at the mere thought of it.”
He said that the 11KVA lines running just beneath the 33KVA ones are another cause of concern. “Only yesterday, the day this receiving station was made functional, the 11KVA line snapped at two places in Damhal village. Thankfully there were no casualties but can we be lucky always? And why depend of luck in the first place?” the source said.
Also, there is a technical difficulty. If the 11KVA line running beneath the 33KVA develops a snag and needs to be maintained, they need to shut down the whole receiving station instead of just cutting off the particular feeder.
“This is because the line-men on work cannot work so close to 33KVA. So, a snag in one village will mean a power cut for all the villages. I am appalled that no one in the department thought of these details while the lines were being laid,” the highly placed source said.
Kashmir Reader talked to Azhar Afaq, the Executive Engineer of Maintenance wing in Anantnag, who said that the receiving station could not have been possible had the project wing looked to find an alternate route.
“Besides, the receiving station was charged only after a nod by the inspection wing of the department,” Afaq said. He insisted that the practice of running 33KVA lines through residential areas in Kashmir was not a new one.
Also, he said, there were no objections from anyone while the receiving station was being made and the lines were being laid.

Suhail A Shah