WE THE PEOPLE
Minor Snowfall enough to disrupt supply of power, water, and essential commodities and snap Tele-connectivity in Kashmir
Hence Vallietes urge concerned officials to modernize their systems, remove irritants and bottlenecks to end their hardships
By: Khalid Qadri
Srinagar: Winter is one of the four seasons and thus not a new thing in Kashmir but it is observed that the Departments of Power Development Department, Public Health Engineering, Public Distribution & Public Affairs and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited have not improved their functional mechanism to tackle weather vagaries, putting thereby the common masses in Kashmir Valley to severe hardships. This became evident on Friday, November 15, 2008 when Kashmir Valley was lashed by a minor snowfall, but immediately thereafter supplies of power, water and essential commodities got disrupted and Tele-connectivity snapped, cutting the Valley with rest of the world. Even all flights were cancelled and Hajj Aazmeen had to return to their pavilions to their utter dismay. Such a scenario is not witnessed even in the most backward countries of the world. Snapping power and water supplies to Hospitals brought patients face to face with a diresome situation. With roads covered by a thin sheet snow and not cleared by Roads & Buildings Department movement of automobiles was brought to a standstill. Laconically speaking, normal life was thrown out of their as all activities came to a grinding halt.
We have instances of several countries in the West, which are frequently hit by blizzards and tornadoes but normal life continues without any hiccups. This is due to the adoption of the latest technologies but here in J&K we have age-old methods to tackle natural calamities. Even in exploiting natural resources, we are far behind. Despite rich hydle resources, we lack power and proper irrigation facilities. Our technocrats have failed to harness such natural resources, denying thereby electricity to unlit hearths and water to unirrigated fields. Had the available water potential been utilized, all our habitations in the State would have been not only electrified but also given a boost to our industrial and agricultural bases in the State. The amount of hydel potential is so high that it can even electrify large segments of Northern India and earn revenue for the State. The water resources are so rich that these could bring large ayacuts under irrigation and produce bumper crops to revolutionize food production in the State.
It is unfortunate that Power Development Department has failed to improve its transmission and distribution system despite pumping crores and crores of rupees into this Sector by the government. It is reported that alignment of transmission lines has not been properly designed and as such failure of the lines, especially during winter months, has become a routine feature, plunging thereby the valley into long shadows of darkness. The distribution system is equally hackneyed and the losses are as high as 40 to 45%. This is a very high range as has been pointed out by several experts repeatedly. It was for this season that the government of India approved a scheme for improvement of Transmission and Distribution System and placed huge sums of many at the disposal of the J&K Government but there is no perceptible improvement in this direction so far. We continue to have old and worn-out conductors in the whole valley, which get snapped frequently. The Sub-stations are in shambles and accidental deaths are reported frequently. It would be desirable to have conductors underground so that these do not get disrupted during winter months when the valley witnesses icy winds and snow storms. Similarly, the Tele-cables should have been placed in well-designed boxes, with manholes at intervals for inspection purposes. This could avoid frequent damages to roads, as there is no coordination amongst the concerned departments.
“It has been our observation that water and power supplies get snapped whenever there is snowfall in the valley. The power conductors fall down and the PDD officials restore supplies after the weather improves. With the failure of power supply to PHE Plants, people are denied drinking water as water to such plants is lifted and the concerned officials lack generators to do the needful. It is alleged that the concerned officials have generators but those are not pressed into service to save fuel and thus embezzle government funds. Moreover, it is alleged that the PHE officials do not use chemicals to purify water and supply raw water even without filtration. This is more common in rural areas where water borne diseases are most common. The same way BSNL officials do not move out of their cozy compartments to restore Tele-connections until and unless the subscribers make rounds of their offices. The officials of the Commercial Section of the said Department are allegedly in the habit of inflating bills and issue orders of disconnection without supplying bills to the consumers on time”, said a group of elderly persons of Kashmir Valley.
It is, therefore, high time that the Heads of PDD, PHE and BSNL conduct a review of their departments and take necessary steps to improve their functional mechanism. They need to infuse discipline among the officials to make them accountable and answerable to the people of the state. The officials of the said departments must work in tandem so that harmonious relationship develops and the net result being better service to common masses of the state. Once done, the Vallietes will not face such disruptions of essential supplies as they have seen yesterday.
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