Srinagar, Jan 16 (KNS): Inhabitants of Sheikh Dawood Colony, Batamaloo Saturday staged a protest against the Power Development Department (PDD) for failing to provide adequate power supply to them.
The inhabitants including women and children blocked the main Chowk at Batmaloo here and raised slogans like ‘we want justice’.
Speaking with KNS, the residents of S.D colony Batamloo said that due to the ‘illogical and useless’ power schedule in the area, the authorities are taking test of their patience. “Apart from the unscheduled power cuts, PDD charges us money to replace or repair the electric transformers,” protesters said.
Blaming PDD officials for minting money from them, residents said, “The officials are taking hundreds of rupees from each household and despite that our grievances are yet to be redressed.”
Terming the power schedule as ‘pathetic’ in the area, Abdul Rashid, a local resident said that they usually reel under darkness in the evening due to the ‘deplorable’ behavior of PDD authorities.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
“Despite unscheduled power cuts in the evening, the erratic power supply has also affected us in the mornings. We don’t even go to Masjid to offer morning and evening prayers due to the non-availability of electricity in the area,” he said.
Chief Engineer PDD, Bashir Ahmad Khan told KNS that the locals don’t even allow the officials to erect maters in the area. “The area is very congested thereby results in overloading and with the same case power cuts are genuine,” he said.
He said that until and unless the people of the area will not cooperate with them, unscheduled power cuts will continue in the area. “Necessary step will be taken at earliest to provide relief to the people,” he said. (KNS)