Dr Malvika Upadhya
Jammu the city of temples is known for its beautiful mountains, temples, landscapes, cultures, colours, people, language, flora and fauna. We are in a city with the loveliest natural landscape and many faulty man-made structures and systems. Where when the clouds sing the songs of thunder or breeze shows slight dances our dear electricity department turns off the lights to allow us to experience the full swing and mood of the weather. Honestly, as I have aged and grown up in Jammu so has the issue of my dear sister electricity. Its problems and issues have also grown along side. Electricity in Jammu does not fail to disappear irrespective of the occasion or any bias whether its deepawali, eid, holi, teej, any of the national days, UT’s local festivals, children’s examination, someone’s celebration, funeral or any other time. Alternate power generating systems also die off waiting, calls to electricity department become an effort so futile and nothing happens.
Multiple Governments came and went however our state’s very own dear electricity issue remained as it is. We are promised new meters and old meters, fresh meters and stale meters, happy meters and sad meters; we are shown dreams of large edifices and smart cities however electricity loopholes remain untouched. In an era of globalisation and advanced technology escalating even up to AI and others our beloved Jammu still continues to battle with an issue as basic as electricity. Our assignments, projects, work commitments fail their submission timelines because the dear electricity withdraws its support. Insufficient power supply and constant cuts results in making the work from home a joke for work professionals and for students waiting to sit for an exam the next day. It all also leads to failure in the working of fans, refrigerators, light bulbs and other devices that stop working due to constant off and on electricity games. Paucity of electricity makes summer look more threatening, winters darker, spring lifeless, rains more sweaty and autumn disgruntling!
Whether old, young, children, women and others everyone suffers due to this issue of electricity. Basic things like working in the kitchen to cook/fetch food, study for an exam, go to some place nearby and others also becomes a challenge. We the people in Jammu criticize the system, government, officials and others however all in vain.
The voices, pleas, issues, everyday talk/slander and complaints go unattended. Amid this crisis, the core questions remain convoluted – do we actually have no power supply in the city? Do we have less or insufficient power arrangements? Is it the government? What exactly is the issue? I am sure most of us reading this have seen their black/brown hair turning grey over years but these gigantic questions have remained unanswered. Will we never get an answer, a resolution about these issues from the state? Will we suffer for the whole lifetime? Or will we keep receiving the flatter of the political parties, state and the dear electricity department with no concrete solution?
Now, the new talk of the town is the novel entry of pre-paid meters. And, here we all ponder with hopelessness and curiosity about what exactly is the need for it? The arguments that are offered seem like another apricot spread on our dear hearts. We, the residents of Jammu wonder whether is it another sham or a blessing? Well, for now that cannot be said however let’s seek a redressal and solution from our Government for the problem of electricity in our dear Jammu.
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