Frequent outages, inflated bills and shoddy infrastructure have created a big enough crisis to make problems related to electricity supply a critical political issue in Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
With 20 lakh consumers impacted, political parties are gearing up to exploit the situation while canvassing for votes.
Many leaders have already announced plans to provide “200-300 units of free electricity” to people. Democratic Azad Progressive Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad and Apni Party chief Altaf Bukhari have made similar promises in their rallies.
The failure of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department to address the problem has also significantly impacted lives. Even while there is a slight improvement in the urban areas, rural regions still face prolonged outages.
Though it produces “3550 MW of energy through its 29 power projects,” the region grapples with severe power shortage during winter, which extends into early summer.
Despite significant investments in infrastructure, a long-term solution is yet to be found.
Similarly, rising energy costs have also hit the common man even though urban development projects are nearing completion.
Rural areas lag, however, with only 60% of planned work accomplished thus far.
Follow us
