Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 15: Working president of JKPCC Raman Bhalla today expressed serious concern over enormous power tariff bills after installation of smart meters in urban as well as rural areas of Jammu District.
He said people of Jammu have been diligently paying their electricity bills, but suddenly they appeared out of nowhere, cutting off the power supply and installing these meters. They are not financially capable of paying the tariffs based on meter readings. Bhalla claimed that people from the unprivileged section wouldn’t be able to make both ends meet if they spent their earnings on power bills.
The JKPCC leader condemned the move as ‘sheer injustice’ inflicted upon the people. “This is nothing short of high-handedness,” said former Minister Bhalla while addressing aggrieved people in Ward-73, Bhour Pind, Bhour Kullian .
Bhalla said people in rural areas are already grappling with numerous challenges, and this will only make their lives more difficult,” he remarked. “The Government is making them face hardships. Many people work tirelessly in the private sector to earn their livelihoods, yet the Government fails to consider their hardships. The installation of smart meters is nothing short of a catastrophe for them.”
Bhalla lamented the lack of employment opportunities for educated youth while “burdening the poor”. He emphasized the pressing need for authorities to address their grievances and take their concerns into serious consideration. He pointed out that the government has continuously implemented “anti-people measures, as if seeking revenge from the people”.
“The Government’s actions were testing the patience of the people in J&K, and that continued such measures would be met with strong resistance,” he warned.
He voiced his worries about the “financial implications” of the smart meters, fearing that they would further burden households already facing difficulties. “Most of the people here are poor and cannot afford hefty bills. They would rather face dire consequences if they are forced to pay as per installed smart meters,” he said. He said, “The BJP Government has broken the backbone of the common man due to high inflation and also due to its wrong policies.”
Prominent among those present on the occasion include- Amrit Bali and Satish Sharma general secretaries JKPCC, Pawan Bhagat- secretary, Gurmeet Singh, Rajinder Singh, Raj Kumar, Sudesh Kumar and others.
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