Sir,
The headlines on the front page of Daily Excelsior of 21 June 2023 brought cheers to every resident of Jammu city. This was a very important announcement when it came from Chief Engineer PDD, Mr. Sandeep Seth, as reported by the paper. The paper had reported that there will be no power curtailment in Jammu City from 20 June onwards while rural and unmetered areas will be restricted below six hours. But the experience of power curtailment from 20 June onwards has been totally different. Either the Newspaper quoted it wrong or Mr Seth meant to say, There will be NO electricity in Jammu city after 20 June. There have been unaccountable cuts in all areas of Jammu City irrespective of the fact the areas are metered or not metered. But how would Mr. Seth or any other high official know when there is no curtailment where they work or live? It is only Bill paying population who is subjected to these power cuts. Those who are privileged to enjoy the luxury of free electricity being VIPS will never know what curtailment is. They are untouchable lots and parasites on the taxpayers and billpayers. The situation will improve certainly when these VIPS are also made to feel the pinch. Yesterday the whole night there was NO electricity. Today whole day there were frequent cuts. We had new meters installed 2 to 3 years ago. Now come new meters called smart meters. What a time to install them. Why could they not be installed in better weather months? Oh yes, Jammu is becoming a smart city. What a pity. What we have done to this city of temples? Smart city means-No power, No water, No traffic control, No earmarked stops for matadors, and smart electric meters every now and then. By the way, I have a request to make to Mr. Seth, chief engineer PDD to please nominate some of your senior staff members to get out of their air-conditioned offices and check how the smart meters are being installed. The wires are hanging loose all around. The other day TECHNO company persons fitted smart meters for six families on one pole outside my house. The wires were loose and naked. I told the three men working on it. They said we will tape them.Nothing happened, they went away. At night when the wind blew there was sparking and the fire. The next day in Bharat Nagar there was a fire and all the smart meters got burnt. Please have some kind of check. We need safety, not your smart meters. such a pathetic state of affairs everywhere. The city is crying–SAVE ME AND RESTORE TIMELESS GLORY.
The logo of the smart city reads-SMART CITY JAMMU-KHAND MEHTE LOG. And the administration is taking full advantage of the KHAND METHE LOG. They are subjecting the peace-loving and tolerant citizens to unbearable torture. The heads of Government keep repeating every now and then–SAB KA SATH SAB KA VIKAS. Great indeed. Do they really mean what they are saying? To me, it seems they mean Hamara Vikas tumara sath. If they meant Sab Ka Sath Sab Ka Vikas, then they should also share the miseries the citizens are being subjected to. Why should they not be subjected to power cuts as others are facing it? The administration is surely testing the patience of the people of Jammu. Do not do that. Excess of everything is bad. We pay our bills regularly. We want services. We do not want full-page advertisements in the leading dailies highlighting what the administration wants to showcase.No one is interested in that. Please do not waste taxpayers’ money. Instead please use that money to provide basic amenities we deserve and have the right to have.
Kulbhushan Gupta
Jammu
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