Bandipora, Nov 27: The Gurez Valley in North Kashmir’s Bandipora district has achieved a historic milestone after getting connected to the grid electricity for the first time since independence, bringing joy to the hundreds of households.
The office of J&K LG Manoj Sinha in a post o X said that “Historic day for Gurez! Grid connectivity reached the pristine valley for the first time after country’s independence.
33/11kV Receiving Station energized today benefitting 1500 consumers of various Panchayats, and efforts are on to connect all the villages in phased manner”.
Speaking to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Deputy Commissioner Bandipora, Dr. Owais Ahmad, declared it a historic day for Gurez as the 60 KM 33 KV transmission line successfully underwent a trial run, marking the first-ever grid connectivity for the region.
“In phase 1, 1500 consumers have already benefited, with plans to connect the remaining villages in a phased manner,” he said.
Dr. Ahmad commended the dedicated efforts of the district team, including the STD division, in ensuring timely completion of the project, a crucial step towards delivering smooth services to the last village of the district.
As already reported multiple times by KNO that the Gurez relies on high-capacity diesel generators stationed in various localities to provide timed and restricted power supply to households at subsidized rates.
These generators have been instrumental, the storage, management, and maintenance of fuel during winters remain a persistent issue.
Earlier, an official had informed KNO that the future trajectory of the project indicated that once the remaining work, valued at 2676.92 lacs, was completed, Gurez would experience continuous electricity supply for the first time.
Meanwhile, a group of locals, expressing joy over the development, remarked that their long-held dreams have finally come true for the first time since independence.
“It’s truly a remarkable day for the residents here, now having access to continuous electricity,” stated Mushtaq Ahmad, a local, acknowledging the administration led by LG for this significant development.
“From the depth of our hearts, we can assert that we have witnessed significant progress under the administration of LG Manoj Sinha, unlike during the tenure of elected governments.
Our demands were consistently overlooked by elected representatives, leading to instances such as several villages boycotting voting last time as a protest due to a lack of development,” expressed the locals.
Local resident Mohammad Amin stated that the government has demonstrated its commitment to caring for border residents, in contrast to elected representatives who often make claims without tangible results, limited to mere paperwork.
Another group of locals expressed that, for decades, Gurez received only a few hours of electricity during the night. However, experiencing uninterrupted electricity throughout last night and into the morning hours gave us a unique feeling that only those living here can truly understand.
The residents expressed their hope that grid electricity will soon serve the entire Gurez Valley in the coming days—(KNO)
