Editorial: No plan of action for PDD
Srinagar: We are in the mid of winter season in Kashmir and the people here are facing hardships while fighting it out with the tough weather conditions. The weather conditions are set to turn more vigorous as the harsh winter period is yet to be faced by the people in Kashmir.
However, despite the various difficulties the people are facing, the Power Development Department (PDD) is not learning its lessons. As always the people are being taken for a ride by the PDP as the department has once again failed to provide any respite to the people.
The situation across the Valley has been turned pathetic by the attitude and failure of the officials of the department that even the Chief Minister is facing embarrassment on the failure of the government to provide electricity to the masses here.
The PDD’s schedule announcing the curtailment in various areas of the Valley beginning November 1, has been proving to be a big hoax. In metered areas of the City where the PDD had promised a curtailment of 3 hrs on daily basis, the curtailment runs upto 7 or even 9 hours. Similarly, in non metered areas of the city the curtailment is running upto 11 or 12 hours.
People have been complaining that the PDP follows no schedule and the power curtailments are being followed according to the whims of the technicians operating various receiving stations in most parts of the Valley.
The state as of now is facing the worse power crisis primarily owing to lack of infrastructure which would enhance its power transmission capacity.
The unabated electricity outages emerging out of non availability of power for distribution among the consumers is primarily because of the fact that the Alsteng and the Budgam Grid stations have been left incomplete despite the projects missing the completion deadlines from the past four years now.
Given the increased demand owing to the harsh winters, the power scenario has worsened across the Valley for the past two weeks now. In most of the areas the transmission lines get snapped due to load during peak consumption times, that is evenings and mornings. However, the department has failed to put a mechanism in place where these transmission lines would have been replaced immediately.
These issues are creeping up as the PDP has no plan of action in place. What is worrying is that the government on the one hand is trying to demand the completion of the projects, but on the other the funds for completing some minor works at the ground level are not being worked out.
The government should primarily rise to the occasion and devise a mechanism where the announced schedule both in non metered and metered areas should be followed in letter and spirit. Besides, an immediate plan of action needs to be drawn out so that the minor hiccups being faced in transmission of power supply are curtailed.
KV Correspondent
