It is the peak of summer and mercury has soared to nearly 44 degrees Celsius. Entire Jammu region is in a spate of heat which, according to weatherman, will continue for a couple of days more. This is not unusual and people are mentally prepared to brave the hot summer. But what is really disturbing is the way Power Development Department is handling power supply system. People at the helm of affairs in the department are expected to anticipate the harsh summer and heat wave and they are required to plan in advance how shortage of power can be overcome and people relieved of difficulties. The departmental authorities are resorting to the easiest and the most commonplace remedy of implementing power cuts scheduled and unscheduled. Not to speak of rural areas of Jammu, even the capital city is faced with recurrent and unscheduled power cuts and shut downs without prior notice. At a time when PDD began installing meters it made loud claim that metering would check power pilferage and increase revenue. It also claimed that metered areas would not be subjected to power cuts and load shedding. The situation on ground is the reverse of it. Neither power pilferage has been fully plugged, nor has revenue increased substantially and the worst is that metered areas are indiscriminately subjected to both scheduled and unscheduled power cuts.
Consequences of frequent power cuts and load shedding are critical for the consumers who don’t have alternative mechanism of generating power.
One of the major woes in the area is that transformers get damaged owing to overloading. It takes weeks and months for the PDD to get the damaged transformers repaired and made functional. Last year 2600 transformers were damaged owing to overloading. The situation is not going to be different this year. The reason for long delay in repairing the damaged transformers, according to the informed sources, is the lack of technical knowhow about re-filling process. It is a pity that the PDD has not established district level workshops where transformers could be got repaired within hours of damage and people saved the problems of going powerless. It is important that the PDD should immediately stop load shedding and power cuts at will. It must chalk out a detailed plan of sector-wise load shedding and stick to it meticulously. Arbitrary load shedding is resented by the people more especially when it is implemented in rural areas from where protest voices seldom rise. Power cut affects water supply system which is entirely depending on it. This means that vulnerable sectors face not only power shortage but also water supply. How come that a government will remain unmindful of the suffering faced by the people? Jammu region is reeling under heat wave on one hand and power cut on the other. This is a critical situation. Authorities cannot remain complacent on what has befallen the people. Political leadership of Jammu region needs to be responsive to the difficulties of the people and arrest the rot before it becomes incurable. PDD must ask for more power, regulate load shedding and power cuts, ensure no power cuts in metered areas, develop quick transformer repairing system and ensure that no pilferage of power is done. Defaulters shall have to be dealt with strictly to send a message across the State that PDD means business. Power shortage problem has to be dealt with urgency. Health Department should also come out with a list of precautionary measures which people should observe to avoid adverse effects of heat wave.
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