National Conference on Wednesday lashed out at the State Government and the Administration for its ruthless approach to the miseries of the people on account of the dismal power scenario in the Valley. In a statement issued from National Conference Headquarters, ‘Nawa-e-Subha’ in Srinagar on Wednesday, Party’s Provincial President for Kashmir Nasir Aslam Wani said the PDP-BJP Government’s lack of seriousness and will to upgrade the transmission network was criminal since the Valley was being starved of essential additional power during the winters.
“Why isn’t the Chief Minister barely concerned about the unimaginable sufferings of the people in the harsh winter by exploring all possible available options to give some relief to the people? The fact remains that the present Government has not done anything to make crucial upgradations to the transmission network to enable the State to buy additional power on a contingency basis in view of the harsh weather conditions in winter. To add misery to this already dismal situation, the Chief Minister has failed to initiate a process of starting the Gas Turbines when people are suffering”, the NC Provincial President said in the statement.
The NC Provincial President said that almost the entire Valley has been plunged into darkness and dismay and the Administration seems to be deriving sadistic pleasure from the abject misery of the people rather than taking steps to alleviate the problem. “A lot of transformers too are awaiting repair for months and the department is sleeping on this issue as the political leadership has chosen to turn a deaf ear towards this crisis. It seems like the Government was under the presumption that there won’t be a winter in Kashmir this year and is now acting surprised and claiming helplessness as people continue to suffer”, Nasir Aslam Wani added.
“The Government should immediately start the Gas Turbines and ensure that people all across the Valley get a bare minimum about of power supply to enable them to live without misery and suffering in the harsh winter months. Contingency plans are there for a purpose and if the Chief Minister is not able to grasp the severity of this situation, then she has no right to go from one District to another for her political photo-ops. She has to first fulfill her basic administrative responsibilities and as things stand now there seems to be a complete refusal from her side and that of her Government to take any decisive action to improve the power scenario”, the NC Provincial President said in the statement.