Budroo Anantnag residents block road over the prolonged power crisis
Demand immediate intervention of MLA, DC
Anantnag: Angry residents of Budroo area in Srigufwara, Anantnag on Thursday blocked Bijbehara-Pahalgam road to protest against the Power Development Department (PDD) for what they termed as “complete failure” in providing scheduled electricity supply to the locality for the past nearly three weeks.
Locals said that they have been reeling under an acute power crisis for the last 20 days, receiving electricity only for a few minutes in a day, which has badly disrupted daily life. According to residents, the area is fed by the Gopalpura Receiving Station, where some technical faults have led to erratic and negligible power supply.
“We were assured that we would get at least one hour of power in the morning and one hour in the evening, but in reality we hardly receive electricity for five minutes,” said protesting residents. “Children cannot study, businesses are affected and even basic household chores have become difficult.”
The power crisis has also triggered a severe water shortage in the area as the local water supply scheme is fully dependent on electricity. “Without power, there is no water. For the last many days we are forced to fetch water from distant places,” locals said, calling the situation unbearable.
Residents further questioned the utility charges being imposed on them despite the absence of regular power supply. “Every month we are paying around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 in electricity bills. But for what service? If we are not getting power for weeks, why should we pay such huge amounts?” they asked.
Expressing strong resentment over the delay in restoring supply, protesters said it was shocking that in this modern era authorities have failed to rectify a technical issue even after 20 days. “This reflects sheer negligence. The matter should be investigated and strict action must be taken against the officials responsible for this mess,” they demanded.
The protesting residents urged MLA, higher authorities of the PDD and Deputy Commissioner to intervene immediately and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the area, warning that if the issue is not resolved at the earliest, they would intensify their agitation in the coming days.
Meanwhile, traffic remained disrupted for some time due to the road blockade, causing inconvenience to commuters until the protestors dispersed after assurances from the police that their issue of the issue will be taken up with concerned officials.
