Suhail Rather
Bandipora, Jan 14(KNS): Frequent and unscheduled power cuts have plunged several villages of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district into darkness, triggering widespread public outrage as residents accuse the Power Development Department (PDD) of apathy during the peak of the harsh winter season.
Villages including Gamroo, Arin, Kudara, Chuntimulla, Gundpora, CA-Khan and TA-Shah have been grappling with prolonged and erratic power outages for the past several days. Locals allege that electricity supply is snapped without any prior notice or fixed schedule, leaving households without power for hours on end.
Residents said that the Arin feeder, which caters to nearly 40 villages, remains non-functional for almost eight hours in a 24-hour cycle, making the entire belt extremely vulnerable to load issues and breakdowns. Even minor disturbances, locals claim, lead to prolonged outages.
“So fragile is the system that if even a bird or sparrow touches the line in the upper Kudara villages near Bandipora town, electricity is snapped for hours on the excuse of a ‘fault’,” said an aggrieved resident.
According to locals, power is often cut during evening hours and restored only around midnight—precisely when electricity is most crucial for families, students, and elderly residents battling freezing temperatures.
The situation has severely affected students preparing for their annual examinations. Many complain they are unable to study during evening and night hours due to prolonged outages.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
“Our exams are approaching, but power remains off during peak study hours. We are being pushed towards failure despite paying our bills regularly,” said a student from the affected area.
Adding to the resentment is the fact that many villages connected to the Arin feeder have been fitted with smart meters, yet residents continue to face prolonged power cuts—raising serious questions about the purpose and promised efficiency of smart metering.
“If we are smart-metered, paying on time, and still suffering eight-hour power cuts daily, then what exactly has improved?” questioned another local.
Residents said the erratic power supply has disrupted daily life and forced families to rely on expensive and unsafe alternatives such as candles, inverters, and generators.
The affected villagers have made a heartfelt appeal to the district administration and the Power Development Department to urgently intervene, ease the excessive load on the Arin feeder, ensure equitable power distribution, and issue a clear, transparent, and publicly communicated power schedule.
They urged authorities to treat the issue with seriousness and urgency, especially keeping in view the severe winter conditions and the academic future of students, and to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the region at the earliest.(KNS).