Ganderbal, May 07: The residents of Pathribal Gagangeer in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district staged a protest on Tuesday, blocking the Srinagar-Leh highway, to highlight the acute power shortage they have been facing due to continuous technical snags in the electricity supply.
According to the protesters, the town has been facing persistent power disruptions over the past month, primarily caused by repeated failures of the electricity transformer.
Despite multiple appeals to the Power Development Department (PDD) for a new 100kV transformer, the department has installed substandard equipment that malfunctions within hours of operation, they said.
The protesters complained about receiving inflated electricity bills despite their timely payments, saying this indicates a failure on the part of the department to ensure a reliable and efficient power supply.
Expressing their frustration, the residents warned that if the department continues to neglect their demands for a functional transformer, they will be compelled to escalate their protests.
Upon receiving information about the demonstration, Station House Officer (SHO) Gund Inspector Lateef Ali and Tehsildar Gund, accompanied by other officers and personnel, immediately arrived at the scene. They assured the protesters that they would escalate the matter to senior officials at the Electricity Department to address the grievances.
In response to the situation, official sources from PDD Ganderbal acknowledged the existing challenges, citing the damage to a 63kV transformer due to overloading. They emphasised the importance of responsible electricity usage among residents and pledged to replace the damaged transformer with a more robust 100kV transformer to mitigate the ongoing issues faced by the people.
