Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 27: The resentment is brewing against the deepening power crisis all over J&K with more political parties and , trade and social bodies accusing the Government of not taking the steps to better the power supply in the UT which is reeling under worst ever power crisis.
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Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee today came down heavily on the administration for the worst power crisis and warned it to take immediate steps to improve the situation before it further worsens.
Addressing a joint Press Conference at Party Headquarters here, PCC working president, Raman Bhalla, chief spokesperson, Ravinder Sharma, treasurer, Rajnisah Sharma, general secretary Th. Manmohan Singh, spokesperson Sahil Sharma, the JKPCC leaders came down heavily on the Government for its failure to cope up with the situation of power crisis for the past several days in entire Jammu and Kashmir, while situation is worst in the hot Jammu region.
The Federation Chamber of Industries (FCIK) today urged the Government to ensure uninterrupted power supply to industrial units that have been facing power cuts for many days.
Shahid Kamili, the president of the FCIK, said that representatives from all manufacturers in Kashmir’s industrial estates had approached them about the unscheduled power outages, which add to the stress on the struggling business sector “In any part of the world, uninterrupted and affordable electricity is critical for economic growth, but in Kashmir, instead of progressing, the power situation worsens with each passing year, and our economy suffers as a result,” he said.
He continued that power outages would deter young entrepreneurs from continuing in the production line, diluting the Government’s efforts to encourage them with perks like land and subsidies. “An industrial unit’s uninterrupted power supply is like Oxygen, and it must not be jeopardized at any cost. The industry is already in shambles here for a variety of reasons, but the problem is exacerbated by the lack of electricity,” he said, adding that the power outage will deter investors who are used to working in power-free zones from investing in Kashmir.
He requested Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary A K Mehta, and Principal Secretary of Power, Nitashwar Kumar to intervene in the matter and provide relief to the industry.
Aam Aadmi Party (APP) leader and DDC member, Suchetgarh, Taranjit Singh Tony and APP leader, Balwant Singh Mankotia while raising serious concern over the dismal power scenario in J&K, has flayed the UT Administration for the situation. Slamming ‘Double Engine Government’, they appealed to the Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha to resolve the issue immediately or else AAP would resort to statewide agitation.
In a joint statement issued to media today, Tony and Mankotia said farmers are the worst affected amid acute power shortage as their pump sets have come to a halt in absence of power due to acute shortage rather absence of power in the rural areas. They said that consequently the green fodder crop is getting ruined with the rural belt having gone totally dry. They said that only three to four hours power supply is being provided to the people and farmers of border villages of Suchetgarh which is far from being sufficient for pumping adequate water for irrigation to sustain the crops.
Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Jammu Poonch -Lok Sabha constituency president, Amit Kapoor condemned the Central Government and the UT administration for the ongoing severe power crisis in J&K. Talking to reporters in the party office, Amit Kapoor said that Jammu and Kashmir is reeling under severe power crisis at present. Electricity is coming only for few hours a day. In this situation, the condition of children and the elderly is very bad.
Ikkjutt Jammu Party Legal Cell, president Amzi Arthur John condemn the power cuts and demands to supply the electricity consistently in hot weather.
Amzi Arthur John condemned the power cuts and criticized the working system of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha. He stressed out the need for administration to be more accountable in power crisis. He further added that the electricity is the utmost requirement specially in extreme hot weather conditions where people are unable to survive in this rising temperature of weather.
Chander Mohan Sharma, district president, Jammu Urban NC while expressing serious concern over power crisis in the UT said that the day temperature is rising in Jammu and its peripheries and people are facing unscheduled power cuts and shortage of drinking water in Jammu district.
Addressing a meeting of the party here, today he said, the Government has miserably failed to address the issues of the public importance. However, there are tall claims by the administration about their performance. But ground reality is quite different, said Sharma.
President Hotel & Restaurant Association, Katra and Federation of Hotels, Restaurants, Industry and Commerce of Jammu region, Rakesh Wazir said for last three to four days the Katra Vaishno Devi is reeling under huge power cuts and pilgrims visiting the holy shrine are facing lot of inconvenience and if the problem is not tackled immediately it will effect the tourism and pilgrims traffic in particular vigorously.
He took up the issue with senior officers in the PDD and urged them to ensure round the clock power supply to holy town of Katra so that the prilgrims don’t face any inconvenience.
The residents of Ganpatyar today staged a protest against the absence of drinking water as well electricity for the last several weeks now.
The women of the area carrying buckets came out and blocked the road while they were raising slogans against the administration for failing in addressing their issues.
“We had staged a protest a few days back too, but we were then given assurances that have proven to be mere promises as there was no improvement on the ground and we continue to face hardships in the absence of water and electricity,” the protesting women said.
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