Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, June 27: Up in arms against `unjustified’ power curtailment in Udhampur district, former minister and Ex-MLA Pawan Gupta today led a strong protest march in the town.
The protest march was taken out from Subash Park to the DC Office while passing through the entire town. A large number of people participated in the protest march and displayed their collective resentment against the recent implementation of an unscheduled and unwarranted power curtailment schedule issued by the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (JPDCL).
While addressing the protest march outside the DC Office Udhampur, Pawan Gupta conveyed his profound distress and vehemently criticized the decision taken by Jammu PDCL to enforce protracted power cuts, particularly amid the scorching heat of June.
Gupta highlighted the disparity in power allocation between Jammu and Kashmir divisions and alleged that Jammu Division, with a requirement of 1200 MW, is being provided only 1000 MW whereas the Kashmir Division, with a requirement of 1000 MW, receives an allocation of 1200 MW.
“Additionally, the revenue targets set for the two divisions are significantly imbalanced, with the Jammu Division expected to generate Rs 4200 crore compared to Rs 2600 crore for the Kashmir Division. This disproportionate revenue generation places an undue burden on the residents of Jammu Division,” he alleged.
Pawan Gupta said that despite the creation of separate corporations for Jammu and Kashmir divisions by the Government to streamline power supply, the Chief Secretary of J&K UT ordered the consolidation of revenue and expenditure figures of both the corporations. This move, according to Gupta, is aimed to create a smokescreen for the poor revenue generation from the Kashmir Division.
Pawan Gupta emphasized that Udhampur District has one of the lowest Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses in the country, standing at approximately 18 percent and the residents of Udhampur have already paid Rs 158 crore towards the revenue target set by Jammu PDCL, which amounts to Rs 161 crore for Udhampur district.
Gupta said that in his pursuit to find a resolution, he had recently met with Defence Minister Raj Nath Singh and discussed the issue of power cuts.
The protest rally concluded with presentation of a memorandum to the Lt Governor J&K, through DC Udhampur, seeking zero curtailment in Udhampur because of lowest AT&C losses.
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