JAMMU, May 29: Mission Statehood president Sunil Dimple on Friday led a strong protest demonstration on Janipur High Court Road against the Jal Shakti (PHE) and Power Development Department (PDD), alleging acute scarcity of drinking water and prolonged unscheduled power cuts across Jammu. Protesters also burnt copies of what they termed as inflated electricity bills during the demonstration.
Addressing the gathering, Dimple alleged that residents of Jammu are facing severe hardships due to an acute shortage of drinking water, low voltage issues and long-duration power cuts amid soaring temperatures touching nearly 45 degrees Celsius. He claimed that while people in Jammu are struggling for basic amenities, the administration remains insensitive to their plight.
Dimple alleged that a large number of transformers and power cables have developed faults due to excessive load and have not been replaced promptly because of shortages and delays in repairs. He further criticized the authorities for imposing long power cuts during the ongoing heatwave and ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
He said that elderly citizens, patients, women and children are spending sleepless nights because of frequent electricity disruptions. Dimple urged the Chief Minister and Lieutenant Governor to ensure that the power requirements of Jammu and Kashmir are met before electricity generated from local power projects is supplied to other states.
The Mission Statehood leader also alleged that prolonged outages and low voltage have rendered many inverters ineffective as batteries are unable to charge properly. Referring to the growing tourist influx in Jammu, he claimed that several public water coolers installed in city markets are lying defunct, causing inconvenience to visitors and local residents alike.
Dimple alleged that many urban and rural areas are facing drought-like conditions, with residents struggling to obtain water for drinking, cooking, bathing and washing clothes. He demanded the immediate start of work on the proposed Akhnoor-Chenab water supply project for Jammu city.
He further alleged that adequate water tanker services are not available and accused certain agencies of charging money for tanker supplies in areas where regular drinking water is not being provided.
Raising concerns over the proposed prepaid metering system, Dimple claimed that the advance payment mechanism scheduled to be implemented from June 1 would place an additional financial burden on poor families.
Among those who participated in the protest were Ashok Sharma, S. Partap Singh, Gopal Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Rajinder, Tarsem Singh and several other activists.