Anantnag: In the holy month of Ramadan people in Kashmir have been facing an acute shortage of electricity, with some saying this is the worst ever power crisis.
The administration had assured people of adequate power supply during the holy month, even as Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha had recently urged consumers to get meters installed for round-the-clock power supply.
But claims apart, this Ramadan has been equally pathetic for metered as well as un-metered areas, across the valley of Kashmir. “Metered areas are facing power cuts ranging between 8 and 14 hours. You can imagine what un-metered areas must be facing,” a resident of Anantnag district in south Kashmir said.
He said that for the second consecutive day on Wednesday they have been facing a power cut of more than 12 hours. “The situation has never been worse,” he said.
People from north and central Kashmir – whom Kashmir Reader talked to – had similar tales to tell.
Srinagar city, as per the residents, is a little better off in comparison to villages but, “This is something we have never witnessed, not even in winters,” a Srinagar resident told Kashmir Reader.
“Ramazan has always been a little better off in terms of power supply, but it has gone from bad to worse to pathetic this time around,” Srinagar residents told Kashmir Reader.
The authorities are blaming the early rise in temperature this year, lesser generation of power compared to the demand owing to shortfall in rains, and the Ukraine-Russia conflict for the power crisis Kashmir has been witnessing.
Chief Engineer of the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Javed Yousuf Dar, said that the situation was the same in most parts of north India.
“The demand is high given an early onset of summer, and the generation has been severely affected by the coal shortage due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” Dar said. “Locally we have had a deficit in rainfall affecting power generation from the Chenab valley,” he added.
The authorities do not say it but the reasons they have been putting forth for the hefty power cuts might not be rectified soon, and the situation may worsen in the coming days.
Political parties have called the situation appalling given the power supply scenario during the holy month of Ramazan. National Conference’s Provincial President, Nasir Aslam Wani, has expressed dismay over frequent power cuts, especially during Iftar and Sehri hours.
“It is appalling that there have been long power cuts instead of uninterrupted power supply during the holy month of Ramadan,” Wani said. “The power cuts are getting severe and are giving a tough time to the general public, who find themselves in darkness at Sehri as well as Iftar,” he said.

Suhail A Shah