Srinagar, May 13: A major digital disruption has crippled Jammu and Kashmir’s e-governance system, leaving lakhs of residents unable to access essential public services. Several key online platforms—including Bill Sahuliyat, Revenue Plus, JKPaySys, EMpower, Awam Ki Awaaz, eUnnat, and Apki Zameen Apki Nigrani—have been offline for nearly a week, severely impacting administrative and citizen-centric transactions.
The outage has led to widespread inconvenience across sectors: online electricity bill payments are stalled, land registrations have come to a halt, employee salaries remain unprocessed, and citizen grievance portals have gone silent, officials and affected users said.
Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Bilal Mohiudin Bhat, when contacted, said, “I will take a review and assess why the apps aren’t working. As far as the land app is concerned, there was an audit going on. I believe the services should be up shortly.”
“I’ve tried paying my electricity bill three times since Monday, but the Bill Sahuliyat app just won’t load. Now they’ll charge a late fee for a delay that isn’t our fault,” said Irfan Khan, a shopkeeper from Rawalpora, Srinagar.
Acknowledging the issue, Chief Engineer of Kashmir Power Development Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Er Auqib Waheed Deva, said, “There is a technical issue affecting the backend infrastructure of the apps. Our teams are working with the data centre to resolve it. We expect services to resume by May 15.”
Advisor to the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, also responded to the rising public frustration. “I have taken note of the issue and will check with the concerned officials tomorrow (May 14),” he told Rising Kashmir.
Another resident, Rehan Ahmed, faced a financial setback due to the malfunctioning Revenue Plus platform. “I had a land deal scheduled today. The buyer pulled out, saying it was too uncertain. This outage is a disaster,” he said.
Asifa Jan, who was scheduled for a land registration at the DC office Srinagar, said she was turned away due to the digital blackout. “Since land deals are entirely online now, they told me to wait. But no one knows when the apps will start working again,” she said.
The outage has also disrupted the internal functioning of government departments. A senior accounts officer, requesting anonymity, said the JKPaySys portal, used for processing government employee salaries, has become unresponsive. “We can’t upload salary bills or generate payslips. This delay at the month-end will directly impact salary disbursement,” the officer said.
However, the lack of official advisories or clear communication from most departments has deepened public anxiety, particularly for those relying on these platforms for time-sensitive services.
