Frequent power cuts and blackouts return to haunt people of Upper Rafiabad
Reports Mir Arif
Baramulla: With the onset of holy month of Ramadan frequent and unscheduled power cuts have yet again returned to haunt the people of upper areas of Rafiabad in North Kashmir.
Though the department concerned is often seen apologizing for power cuts most of the time for repair work, there has been no respite from unscheduled power cuts and blackouts. The residents here have to remain without power even in the evening and night hours since last month. The hide-and-seek game of electricity is not only affecting the students and common people, but has also affected the functioning of government offices, banks and other business establishments.
In most parts of the upper Rafiabad power woes have pushed the people to immense inconvenience and has make life of people miserable.
According to the residents from several villages of the Rafiabad which include Panzlla,Balhama,Ladu,Sialkot,Patoosa,Khuspipora,Braman,Khahmoha and adjoining villages are facing prolonged power curtailments without any proper schedule.
The residents from these villages revealed that electricity disappears for the whole day and most of the times it vanishes completely in the evening.
The residents said their residential localities have plunged into darkness owing to the erratic power supply.
They said the students were drastically affected due to prolonged power curtailments unscheduled power supply has become a cause of great concern in their areas.
“For past many months we are facing unscheduled power curtailments which continue for several hours together. I should say the electricity vanishes for the entire day at times we do not see any power in evenings. In 24 hours we are provided with power for only two to three hours,” a delegation of residents from various upper areas of Rafiabad of North Kashmir said while talking to Greater Now.
“The curtailments have not only become annoying for our locality it has badly impacted our daily routine especially the studies of our children,” they added.
The inhabitants of these places however alleged there was no schedule as electricity would vanish completely for hours together.
“There is no power schedule. Sometimes electricity comes for thirty to fourty minutes a day; at times not at all. Ramadan has just started in the valley and so have peoples’ miseries,” told another resident of Panzlla Rafiabad.
Anothet resident from Braman village while talking to Greater Now said, “For the past many months, electricity is playing hide and seek. It comes for an hour and then again there is a power cut for eight to twelve hours. It has become difficult to cope up with such frequent breakdowns, especially during nighttime and the department should take immediate steps to address this issue.
Meanwhile people have also alleged that if the PDD department is functioning it is only because of temporary casual labourers who are giving their blood and sweat to the department for maintenance and proper supply while as officers and officials of PDD in higher hierarchy are only sitting in their cozy offices bypassing their work and people have requested to government that performance of these officers should be keenly monitored and they should be made accountable for these frequent cuts and blackouts.