Pulwama, Nov 15: Ahead of the winter, the residents across Tral, Awantipora and adjoining villages in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district are expressing deep resentment over persistent and unscheduled power cuts, which they say have upended routine life far earlier than expected.
Residents from multiple localities including Tral town, Nowdal, Dadsara, Awantipora, Charsoo, Lurgam, Pinglish and Koil reported that power supply has become increasingly unreliable over the past several weeks, despite regular bill payments and repeated assurances from the Power Development Department (PDD).
For students preparing for examinations, the situation has become particularly stressful. “Electricity disappears every couple of hours without any warning. The evenings are already cold, and it becomes very difficult to study or even sit comfortably in our rooms,” Zahid Ahmad, a resident of Tral town said.
Residents in Awantipora narrated similar experiences. “Outages have become routine now. We hardly get any uninterrupted power in the evenings, which is the time families need it the most,” said Sameer Ahmad of Awantipora’s Reshipora area.
He added that despite repeated complaints, the issue remains unresolved.
In Nowdal area of Tral, locals accuse the authorities of making annual promises without concrete action. “Every winter we are told there will be a proper curtailment schedule, but what we actually face is power supply that remains off for most parts of the day. These hollow assurances serve no purpose,” said Ashiq Hussian Bhat.
Shopkeepers and small business owners in Tral and Awantipora said the outages are severely affecting livelihood. “Our work depends on electricity, and the sudden cuts have led to losses. Even inverters and generators aren’t able to cope with the prolonged breakdowns,” said Mohammad Amin, a trader from Bus Stand Tral.
In Charsoo village of Awantipora, residents described the situation as intolerable. “We are paying hefty tariffs, but the service is deteriorating. Winters are harsh here, and this kind of erratic supply makes life miserable, said Lateef Ahmad, a local farmer.
Women in several households also voiced concerns, saying the cuts have disrupted evening chores and affected children. “Cooking, heating water, managing kids—everything becomes ten times harder when electricity goes off again and again,” said Shabnam, a resident of Dadsara.
People across these areas are demanding that the PDD publish a clear, reliable, and strictly followed curtailment schedule, especially for the winter months, so households can plan their daily routines accordingly. They also appealed to the administration to ensure stable supply during evening hours when temperatures drop significantly.
A PDD official, when contacted, acknowledged the increasing demand but said efforts are underway to stabilize the system. “Power demand has risen across Kashmir with the drop in temperature. We are carrying out transformer augmentation, repairs, and maintenance to ensure better supply. Our teams are trying to reduce inconvenience as much as possible,” the official said—(KNO)
