Bandipora, Aug 25: Agitating over prolonged and unscheduled power outages, the Traders’ Federation of Bandipora on Tuesday issued a three-day ultimatum to the district administration, warning of a large-scale protest if the power supply situation in the north Kashmir district is not improved.
The traders alleged that the Power Development Department (PDD) was enforcing cuts far in excess of the notified schedule, causing severe disruption to business activities.
“The scheduled curtailment for Bandipora is three hours, but we are facing power cuts for up to six hours daily, from 8 am to 8 pm. These are unscheduled and unpredictable. A trader does not know when the electricity will come — at 2 pm, 3 pm, or 4 pm — making it impossible to plan work,” a representative of the federation told Kashmir Convener.
He also claimed that the district was being subjected to discriminatory treatment compared to other areas.
“In Sopore, the cut is two hours, in Srinagar it is one hour, and in other districts, it is two hours. In Bandipora, even a three-hour cut is considered better, that too during peak business hours,” he said.
The federation warned that if the PDD failed to restore a proper power schedule within the next three days, they would seek permission from the concerned authorities and stage a sit-in protest.
“We will sit here until the PDD improves the situation. If they do not act, we will meet here in large numbers and launch an agitation,” the trader representative said, adding that the administration would face “problems” if the issue was not resolved.
The federation has urged the district administration to intervene and ensure that the PDD adheres to the scheduled power curtailment timeline to provide much-needed relief to traders and residents alike.
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