Frequent power cuts worsen daily life in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu-Kashmir
Sep 11, 2024
Muzaffarabad [PoJK], September 11 The residents of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) continue to suffer because of a severe ongoing power crisis in the area.
The general public has repeatedly expressed its frustration over the persistent power cuts that have crippled their daily lives and have severely affected the economic activities of PoJK.
Despite a decrease in electricity prices following deadly protests in May organized by the residents of PoJK, the load-shedding in the area has become even more frequent.
A local businessman,, Khuwaja Abdul Samad, while lamenting the local administration, said, "Even when there's electricity, it's difficult to run a fan due to extremely low voltage. This is severely impacting our businesses."
Further, he highlighted that the administration must urgently upgrade the region's outdated power infrastructure.
Notably, the area of PoJK has been witnessing a severe power crisis despite having a power generation project like the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project.
Khuwaja Abdul Samad also mentioned, "It seems that the government has decided that they will not give us adequate electricity. Our electricity is cut whenever the administration decides. There is no schedule for these cuts. The structure remains the same, and transmission lines are the same. The demand has increased due to population rise. But the system is not being upgraded. There are old, faulty lines. They need to upgrade from scratch."
The PoJK resident further criticized the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project as a colossal failure and called for a shift towards more sustainable and locally-driven solutions. The businessman also suggested that "the local administration must create mini hydropower projects. It will be less expensive and will yield more returns. This will be beneficial for the local people, as they will be able to run their business properly. And this system of sending electricity to Pakistan's grid system must stop so that we will get direct electricity".
The residents in PoJK have long accused that they are ruled by stooge authorities, who only help Islamabad, to fill its treasuries through economic depredations. But the issues of PoJK do not matter to them at all.
