Let There Be Power!
With the commencement of winter, scheduled and unscheduled cuts in electricity supply are inevitable. This is essentially because the demand escalates, while the supply remains the same. This is also because water level in the run-of- the river hydroelectric power projects goes down considerably, and this adversely impacts power generation.
Then there is the menace of power theft, which is popularly called in Kashmir as “Hooked theft”. But public memory is short. When power cuts turn into woes, the blame is squarely put on the administration. Power crises alone make people forget about being direct beneficiaries of dozens of developmental projects and schemes. Then the woeful statements start pouring in, like: “This government is a disaster”. “The government has failed on all fronts”. “The entire Kashmir valley is reeling under darkness.”
While the government has made definite efforts to effectively deal with power crises, certainly more can be done so that people do not have to face long power cuts in winter. A good thing is that smart meters have been installed in almost all parts of Srinagar city. This shall greatly help in addressing the issue of power theft. This also gives people a legitimate reason to agitate on unscheduled power cuts, because they can no more be blamed for injudicious use of electricity.
