Shopian: Several parts of south Kashmir’s Shopian town have been witnessing protracted power outages for more than the last three weeks, causing severe hardships to the residents and traders in the area.
According to the residents, many areas of the town including Bonabazar, Tak Mohalla, Nakhasi Mohalla, Bongam and Batpoapara areas are reeling under a power crisis since the beginning of this month.
The residents said that the electric supply remains shut during the day time while long and unscheduled cuts are witnessed in the evenings.
“The pesky power cuts have been troubling us for a long time. Despite footing our power bills on time, we get poor supply”, said Javed Ahamd , a resident.
He said that the Power Development Department ( PDD) was not serious enough to address the issue. The situation has been more harrowing for the traders and students of the town.
“Almost every businessman, from a small shopkeeper to those who run industrial units, suffers enormously due to the erratic power supply”, said Mitha Gatoo, a prominent social activist from the town.
Gatoo said that they were clueless about the protracted disruptions in the power supply.
” We have not been informed about the cause behind these protracted outages”, said Gatoo.
A group of students told Greater Kashmir that they were unable to study as soon as the darkness engulfed them.
Executive Engineer Power Development Department Mohamamd Rasheed said that the electricity remained affected in the area due to the maintenance cum augmentation work.
“The work may take 15 to 20 more days to complete”, he said.