Srinagar: National Conference on Thursday asked the government to put a halt on the proposed hike in the power tariff , saying the steep increase in electricity tariff will add to the burden of a common man in Jammu and Kashmir.
This was said by the party Chief Spokesperson and Advisor to Omar Abdullah Tanvir Sadiq, while touring Shahar-e-Khas areas. Alluding to the proposed 17.74% and 12.46% hike in power tariff in both the Jammu and Kashmir provinces by JPDCL and KPDCL respectively, Tanvir said the proposed hike is totally an unwarranted decision that has been taken by the power department without taking the sufferings of the varied sections of people into account.
“The decision is blind to the financial distress the people of Jammu and Kashmir are facing. Such an arbitrary increase in power tariff is totally unbearable, particularly at a time, when people across J&K are trying to grasp the nettle of financial distress induced by successive lockdowns and Clamp downs. Government should take into consideration the financial condition of our people before going for such a major hike. Such an arbitrary hike which is blind to the primary stakeholders, the consumers is totally acceptable,” he said.
Lambasting the administration for pushing the people to wall during the current spell of the brute heat- wave across the Jammu region, he said the undue decision of power hike will put a huge burden on the people in both provinces.
“Situation has become all the more critical with mercury breaching 40 degree Celsius in Jammu region. In Kashmir also the mercury has started to stagger up,” he said adding, “At a time when our artisans, daily wagers and marginal traders in Srinagar, and elsewhere in JK are trying to make good the losses incurred by them since 2019,the administration should have ideally put such a measure on hold. Let alone helping coming to the aid of people, the administration is up for extorting money. This is reprehensible. Such a decision should have ideally been avoided,” he said.
Earlier Tanvir made brief stopovers in the interiors of various Shahar-e-Khas pockets including Gulshan Bagh, Zoonimar, Soura and Gilikadal. Tanvir while interacting with locals was surprised with the utter neglect faced by the people in the old city. “The concerns raised by the locals need no corroboration. It is there for all to see. The woes of our people in the old city areas are evidenced by crumbling road surfaces and ever present potholes. The situation with regards to power and water supply is equally deplorable. The sheer degree of executive apathy is also confirmed by the undue closures of local ration stores,” he said.
The locals also intimated the visiting party leader about the ordeal faced by them due to the availability of ration at local PDS stores. The locals also put him in picture about the problems faced by them on account of the undue closures of local ration ghats. (GNS)
