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Widespread protests held in Jammu over erratic water, electricity supply
Enraged over rampant power cuts and erratic water supply amid rising mercury, residents protested in various parts of Jammu on Tuesday
Enraged over rampant power cuts and erratic water supply amid rising mercury, residents protested in various parts of Jammu on Tuesday.
Protests were held in Vijapur town of Samba, Jammu city and Kathua town where angry people strongly castigated the administration for prolonged power cuts and erratic water supply. They also shouted slogans against the LG administration for turning a blind eye to the chaotic situation.
“Out of 24 hours, we are getting power supply for barely seven hours and we all know that during summers the temperature soars to 40 degree celsius in the plains of Jammu,” said one of the protestors.
The workers of Dogra Front and Shiv Sena led by president Ashok Gupta also took out a protest rally in Jammu city here. The party workers carried empty buckets, hand fans and water pots to lodge their protest against the administration.
“The shortage of power supply has led to scarcity of water in the city. LG should take cognizance of the matter and issue necessary instructions to the PDD authorities for immediate action to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people,” said Gupta.
Provide uninterrupted power: JCCI urges LG
The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday urged LG Manoj Sinha to take all possible steps to provide 24X7 power to bail out industry and common households from the crisis.
Addressing a press conference here, JCCI president Arun Gupta said that the current scenario in Jammu region as far as electricity supply is concerned is quite unfortunate because even the areas having latest smart meters are not being spared from unscheduled power cuts.
Gupta also said that the power crisis has severely hit industrial areas and brought the units to a grinding halt.
He said that the common man is facing nightmarish experience with no proper schedule of the power in the region which is unacceptable as people were expecting round the clock supply under the LG’s administration.
An official of the power development department said, “The total power requirement for Jammu and Kashmir stands at 3,500 mega watt but we as of now have 1400 to 1500 mega watt with us.”
The official attributed the shortfall to less water discharge in the rivers and acute shortage of coal in other states.
