Kulgam, Jan 23: The residents of Kilam area in Devsar, south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, blocked the Mir Bazar Kulgam road on Tuesday morning to protest against unscheduled electricity cuts in their village.
According to protesting locals, electricity disruptions in the area have become more frequent, causing disturbances while monthly bills continue to rise.
Showkat Ahmad, a local, said that they the residents of Kilam Bozgam, have been witnessing unscheduled power cuts in the area for a while now.
“We don’t have uninterrupted electricity, and our monthly power bills have exceeded 1000 rupees. Despite bringing this matter to higher-ups in the district, it hasn’t been addressed so far,” he said.
Vakeel Ahmad, another local, said that they support the government but demanded electricity as per schedule.
“The department should provide us electricity according to the schedule. Students and others are facing severe difficulties in the absence of electricity. We want higher authorities to look into the matter and provide us with electricity, just as they provide us monthly bills with a reasonable charge,” he said.
Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of KPDCL Subdivision Qazigund, Mohd Yousuf Mir, told Rising Kashmir that the area feeder experiences a massive load during peak hours, leading to distress cuts. He assured locals of scheduled electricity if they cooperate with the department.
“The excessive load, reaching up to 315 Amperes, and the use of crude elements by residents during evening and early morning hours make it challenging to maintain uninterrupted supply. Mir added that during a recent inspection drive, they seized numerous crude elements,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the evening during inspection crude elements at the same village were seized and destroyed. 70 amps of load were reduced, improving power supply to the area, and distress cuts turned off automatically, AEE further added.
