Baramulla, Feb 22: The locals and traders of the main town Uri held a protest against the Power Development Department (PDD) for the hike in electricity tariffs.
The protesters alleged that the PDD had increased bills from Rs 370 to Rs 690 and from Rs 700 to Rs 1400, which they said was unaffordable. Raising slogans against the department, they blocked the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road near the Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Uri for almost three hours.
Mustafa Khawaja, a local trader, told Rising Kashmir that despite having four power projects in the Uri sub-division, the area is not receiving adequate power supply.
“Both metered and non-metered areas crave for adequate power supply. The hefty electricity bills will are adding to our miseries,” he said.
The police officials later visited the site and assured the protesters that the issue would be taken up with the concerned authorities.
JKNC District President Baramulla, Dr Sajjad Shafi Uri, who was present at the protest, demanded that the bills be rolled back. He said the hike in electricity bills has caused distress among the locals and traders who are already struggling due to the winter woes.
Later on, Dr Sajjad along with a delegation of prominent people from Uri met with officials of the sub-division and was assured that their genuine demands would be fulfilled on a “priority basis”.
An official of the PDD told Rising Kashmir that consumers are overusing electricity and claim bills to be inflated.
