Last Updated on November 3, 2023 at 3:40 pm
The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCC&I) today sought intervention of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha to personally intervene and order the concerned officials to take measures to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers and alleviate their miseries.
In a statement, Fiaz Ahmad Bakshi, secretary general of KCC&I, said that the organisation has been keenly observing and assessing the unprecedented erratic power supply occurring in Kashmir valley over the past several months which has been gravely affecting the industry, trade, business and households in general.
The Chamber expressed deep concern and disappointment with the “unreliable and contradictory” policies of the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) being adopted for maintaining regular power supply to the consumers. It is strange that the department while starting the process of installation of smart meters had committed to uninterrupted flawless electric supply to the consumers, which has not proved true on the ground as the power supply has been severely erratic for most of the time during the year.
The KPDCL came out with a schedule for electric curtailment instead of making sure the regular supply. However, astonishingly the KPCDL has miserably failed to stick to the announced schedule also further compounding the miseries of all type of consumers. It appears the Department is continuously failing in meeting the aspiration of the consumers and is not only hiding behind one or the other excuse but is resorting to a false propaganda. Many weeks ago the KPDCL announced that it had procured power from Uttar Pradesh and was in negotiations for purchasing more from Central Grid to ease out of the situation created by the power shortage. Nothing has happened since then and the Department came out even with a power curtailment before the onset of winter when the power demand is lesser than that of harsh winter months, Bakshi added.
The KCC&I would, therefore, request the Lt. Governor to personally intervene, direct concerned officials to take measures in ensuring the power supply to the consumers and alleviate the miseries of the consumers particularly the Industries, Tourism Sector, Industrial Estates, CA stores, shopkeepers and Traders, Senior Citizen, Sick, students, Health, Education on account of non- availability of regular power Supply through the punishing cold winters.
He said, it is worth mentioning that the Government spends crores on tourism promotion as a result of which we receive a large number of tourists thereby contributing to various sectors of economy. The helpless tourists not only face a tough time but become a bad impact for our tourism due to the prevailing and worsening power crisis. KCCI expects KPDCL shows some responsibility towards the beleaguered population, to say the least, Bakshi added.
