Dealing with the power
The union government on Wednesday promised 24×7 power supply across Jammu and Kashmir in next two years. During a meeting on Wednesday, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (Independent charge) and Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, R K Singh highlighted that the mission of the Union government is to provide 24×7 power to all the districts of UT of J&K within the next two years. He said that sufficient power is available in the country but J&K needs to address the issues by putting in place sufficient Transmission and Distribution system. He directed the concerned officers to prepare a project for capacity addition which could ensure 24×7 power to all the consumers of J&K and submit it to the Government of India.
The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been facing acute power shortage. While the Kashmir region suffers during winters, the Jammu region is troubled during summers. One of the biggest flaws is the insufficient Transmission and Distribution system. Lots of energy is wasted due to the poor transmission. There still are hundreds of villages spread all over Jammu and Kashmir where there is no proper transmission system in place. Transmission lines are hanging on stray trees thus risking the lives of people and resulting into the loss of energy. Every year, particularly in winter zones of the union territory, billions are spend on repairing of fallen transmission lines and polls. This recurring loss to state exchequer could be saved if the government decides to make onetime investment by laying underground transmission lines.
Though with the completion of upcoming power projects like Pakal Dul, Kiru and Kwar, J&K has every potential to become power sufficient but the constant delays in meeting the deadlines result into cost escalation one hand and on the other hand deprives the populace from have sufficient power supply. The government needs to understand that unless the power supply in J&K is stabilized, the economy can’t be bettered. Right now there is too much talk about inviting investors to invest in the union territory but fact of the matter is that no investor would be ready to do so if he or she is not promised uninterrupted power supply. Therefore, one would hope that what the Union Minister said about 24×7 power supply is transformed into the reality.
