Unscheduled power cuts in Jammu irk residents

Unscheduled power cuts in Jammu irk residents Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 18
Though the Power Development Department (PDD) authorities have repeatedly made claims about regular power supply, unscheduled cuts continue in the city.
For the past six months, the people have been holding demonstrations in support of their demand for an improvement in the supply. However, no action has been taken so far in this regard.
Though the Minister of State for Power, Shabir Ahmed Khan, had claimed before the beginning of the summer that that there would be no unscheduled power cuts during the season, there was no improvement in the situation.
Sumit Kaul, a resident of Roop Nagar, said: “Hardly, a day passes without unscheduled power cuts. If the authorities are unable to provide regular supply, they should at least inform the public in advance about the proposed cuts. Though we have lodged a number of protests, there is hardly any change in the situation.”
Another resident, Vikram Kumar, said: “If the situation is not going to improve, what is the use of paying huge electricity bills?”
Amit Kumar, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, said: “The situation started deteriorating in April and since then, unscheduled power cuts and low voltage have been creating problems”.
He added: “It seems there is no improvement in the power scenario and the authorities, including ministers,are just making statements. They should visit the areas to know the ground reality and the functioning of the electricity department.”
An official of the PDD said a snag in the supply had led to the power cut today. “We had informed the public in advance about the maintenance work at some places,” he said. However, he failed to give a reply about the unscheduled cuts during the past six months.
Repeated attempts to contact the Chief Engineer, PDD, Shahnaz Goni failed.