Suhail Rather
Bandipora, Mar 24(KNS): A power crisis has hit Lone Mohalla in Gamroo village of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, where four transformers have been damaged within five days, leaving residents without electricity and raising concerns over infrastructure and maintenance.
Locals said a 63 KVA transformer has been replaced almost daily, but newly installed units have been getting damaged within minutes, disrupting power supply and affecting normal life.
The situation has caused concern as two critically ill patients in the locality are dependent on oxygen support, with residents saying uninterrupted electricity is essential for their survival.
Residents alleged negligence by the Power Development Department (PDD), questioning the quality of transformers and installation procedures.
“Either the transformers being installed are faulty or there is a serious issue in the installation process. How can a new transformer fail within minutes?
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They said if overloading is the reason behind repeated failures, the department should upgrade capacity instead of reinstalling the same rating transformer.
“Why not replace it with a higher-capacity transformer? What is the use of smart meters if the system cannot handle the load?” another resident said.
Officials, however, attributed the issue to excessive load in the area.
Assistant Executive Engineer, PDD Bandipora, Manzoor Ahmad said the department is aware of the problem and will replace the damaged transformer again.
“The transformer will be replaced tomorrow morning. However, overloading due to increased use of electrical appliances is a major concern,” he said.
Residents said temporary replacements are not a solution and demanded a long-term fix to prevent recurring outages.(KNS).