In view of the increase in incidents of fire being reported from the Valley with the onset of winter, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday launched a campaign against substandard heating appliances in summer capital Srinagar.
Multiple teams of police led by deputy superintendents (DSP) and station house officers (SHO) spread out in the city, raiding shops selling the appliances.
“Our teams led by DSPs/SHOs have started checking shops selling heating appliances in every area. Legal action will be taken whenever a sub-standard, duplicate or fake product is found,” Srinagar Police said in a tweet.
It also disseminated a contact number, asking citizens to report to police if they come across such appliances.
On Friday, the police had cautioned against using unauthentic appliances citing an increase in fire incidents in Srinagar city.
“There are many incidents of fire being reported in Srinagar district daily. Citizens are advised to keep basic fire safety equipment handy & also to only use authentic heating appliances. Legal action will be taken as per law against shopkeepers selling fake and duplicate equipment,” the police had warned.
The Srinagar police’s warning had come in the backdrop of at least six residential houses and some shops being gutted in a massive fire at Gudood Bagh locality of Habbakadal in the district. A firefighter was also injured in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}The Srinagar police’s warning had come in the backdrop of at least six residential houses and some shops being gutted in a massive fire at Gudood Bagh locality of Habbakadal in the district. A firefighter was also injured in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}Officials and workers of the Power Development Department have often been carrying out searches across the city to find crude heating devices used by the citizens causing undue load on the power transformers and supply lines.
On Friday, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited conducted inspections in various areas of the city. “Consumers using illegal power supplies and crude heating gadgets have been penalised. Consumers are once again requested to avoid illegal usage of electricity,” it had said.
Kashmir is under the grip of dry and freezing weather conditions prompting the temperatures to go below zero during night.
The power distribution corporation has been maintaining a 31-hour to 56-hour per week power curtailment schedule since November 15 amid the freezing temperatures given rhe alleged use of electricity by people beyond their registered loads.
J&K dry weather to persist another week: MeT
As Kashmir continues to reel under sub-zero temperatures on Sunday, the meteorological department (MeT) has predicted another week of dry weather to persist in the union territory
The mercury again dropped below 0° Celsius during the night across all weather stations in Kashmir, while it did not cross 8° Celsius anywhere in the Jammu division.
The MeT weather update said that Srinagar recorded -3.2° Celsius, while the coldest place recorded in the valley was Pahalgam at -4.5° Celsius. Earlier on Thursday, the Pahalgam had recorded the season’s lowest of -5.6° Celsius for the second time since December 7. The ski resort of Gulmarg also recorded a low of -1.5° Celsius against -2° on the previous night.
In Jammu division, Banihal was the coldest at 0.4° Celsius; however, the Jammu district witnessed 7.2° during the night. Leh in the union territory of Ladakh was freezing at -10.2° C, while the mercury dropped all the way down to -10.6° C in Kargil.
“Current weather is mainly clear to partly cloudy. Dry weather is expected till 24th December,” the MeT weather update said. It said that there was no significant weather system till 26th December.
The month of November and now the first half of December for the major part was dry, recording below average rainfall or snowfall in Kashmir this year, meteorological department (MeT) said. Kashmir’s harsh winter period, colloquially called Chillai Kalan, begins on December 21.