Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, June 9: Expressing serious concern over the recently ordered eight hours long Power curtailment schedule for Udhampur District by the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd, former Minister and Ex MLA Udhampur Pawan Gupta has threatened protests if the unjustified curtailment schedule is not withdrawn by June 12.
While addressing a press conference at his residence, he criticized the JPDCL for affecting power curtailment of prolonged period of eight hours in a day, especially in the month of June when the people face the scorching heat.
Mr Gupta expressed his utter astonishment that some parts of Jammu, Udhampur, Samba Reasi, Kathua and Ramban have been subjected to prolonged power curtailment while on the other hand, there is no such power curtailment for Jammu City and certain parts of other Districts. “This is highly selective, dubious, incomprehensible and discriminatory in nature,” he alleged.
Pawan Gupta pointed out that against the requirement of 1200 MW power, the Jammu Division is being provided only 1000 MW whereas against the requirement of 1000 MW power, Kashmir Division is allocated with 1200 MW.
Moreover, he added, the revenue target of Jammu Division is Rs 4200 crore whereas on the other hand it is Rs 2600 crores for Kashmir Division and the corporation is extracting maximum revenue from Jammu Division.
“In spite of incentivizing the maximum revenue generating Districts, the Corporation is disincentivizing by imposing long power curtailment especially when there is scorching heat in the month of June,” he lamented.
Mr Gupta appealed to the Lieutenant Governor J&K to intervene into the matter so that the people of Udhampur District may not suffer more. He warned that the people will take to streets if the curtailment schedule is not withdrawn latest by 12th June.
On the occasion, Pawan Gupta also expressed his anguish over allotment of CUET (UG) centres to aspirants of Jammu Division at Jallandhar and Amritsar despite giving assurance by the Lieutenant Governor and the Principal Secretary Education Department to accommodate all the aspirants in the Exam Centres located within J&K UT.
He alleged that a number of aspirants were forced to miss the CUET due to their inability to bear huge expenditure on their boarding and lodging outside J&K for the test.
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