With onset of summer, power cuts haunt people

With onset of summer, power cuts haunt people
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 27
Contrary to the claims of the Power Development Department (PDD) that the power scenario has improved in the state, unscheduled power cuts have started to haunt the people with the onset of summer, especially when the temperature is hovering around 40°C and giving sleepless nights to people. The power cuts in metered and non-metered areas across the state have already started, yet the authorities concerned seem to be in deep slumber, as there is hardly any difference in the power scenario as compared to that of last year.

Though every year the state government claims to have solved the problem, it has in fact been aggravating.

For the past few days, all major cities across the state have been reeling under power cuts, which not only affected the day-to-day life but also hit the industries. “Frequent unscheduled power cuts have already become the order of the day and we fear what will happen in the coming days. Summer has just started and power cuts up to four hours have been imposed,” said Munish Sharma, an industrialist of the Gangyal area here.

Recalling the last year’s situation, Sharma added, “Earlier the department had said there would be no power cuts in the metered areas this year, but there had hardly been any difference as compared to last year. The cuts are still continuing”. Similarly, villagers alleged that the PDD had started imposing night cuts too. “The department has not informed us about the schedule of power cuts but has started cuts for four to six hours,” said Amar Singh of Dharamsal village in Rajouri district.

Though the consumers are expecting a better summer this year, it seems the prevailing power scenario is not going to improve, as the officials concerned have failed to address the issue adequately.

“The state government purchases a large quantity of power from other states, Central and other agencies so the deficit in power generation from our own power projects hardly matters,” said Shalin Kabra, Managing Director, J&K Power Development Corporation (JKPDC). He added that they were generating the maximum power from their own projects.

Kabra said, “At present only the Baglihar-II is being repaired, as a technical snag hit it 10 days ago. But the 450 MW power project is at present generating 300 MW and the experts are trying to restore it. Besides, all our power projects are functioning well”. Similarly, the Commissioner of the PDD, Manzoor Ahmad, said, “We are trying our best and have adopted a number of policies in this regard”. However, he did not speak about the gap between the current demand and supply of power across the state. But government documents procured by The Tribune revealed that the gap between the demand and supply of power was almost 40 per cent.

More students, fewer teachers in Jammu schools

More students, fewer teachers in Jammu schools
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 27
Government schools in Jammu district have been successful in enrolling a large number of students, but most of these schools are facing a shortage of teachers, which is badly affecting studies.

Sources told The Tribune that primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools of the district were facing the shortage of teachers. Moreover, some of the schools did not even have headmasters/headmistresses to run the institutions properly, they added.

“Due to the shortage of teachers, the existing staff are being forced to take additional classes despite the fact that they are not well versed in teaching different subjects. As a result students are not being taught properly,” said a teacher on the condition of anonymity.

Government documents procured by The Tribune revealed that of the total 8,460 sanctioned posts of teacher in Jammu district, 1,546 posts were lying vacant. It added that there were 1,11,531 students enrolled in the government schools in the district, but these schools did not have the requisite number of teachers.

“A total of 1,546 posts, including 1,139 of teacher, 126 of master, 48 of lecturer and 204 posts of Rehbar-e-Taleem (ReT), are lying vacant in the district,” the documents stated.

Even Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed accepted the fact that a large number of posts were lying vacant. He said, “We are aware about the shortage of teachers and steps are being taken to fill vacant posts so that the students get better education”.

A senior official of the Education Department said, “We have referred 608 posts of teacher in Jammu district to the Staff Selection Board (SSB) for the selection of suitable candidates. Besides, a total of 289 posts of lecturer have also been referred to the Public Service Commission”.

He added that, “Steps are being taken to recruit ReT teachers also, but due to court cases there is little progress”.