Saturday, 16 November 2024
Saturday, 16 November 2024
As the political parties jostle for power in the Jammu and Kashmir elections that are under way, many voters said they were worried about the other kind of power – the supply and price of electricity.
The second phase of polling for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election is underway, with voters across various constituencies stating concern over mounting electricity bills and erratic power supply.
At a polling station in Srinagar on Wednesday, an elderly voter told a visiting foreign diplomat about the increasing cost of electricity. “The power supply is unreliable and the new tariff meters are making our bills go up. Now they say water consumption will also be metered," PTI reported the voter as saying.
Although electricity tariffs in Jammu and Kashmir have remained unchanged for several years, recent revisions in load agreements by the Power Development Corporation have caused a sharp rise in monthly bills, nearly doubling them for many households.
Voters, already struggling with inconsistent electricity, are now facing higher costs, a matter they say is more pressing than the political promises being made by major parties. And this is an issue that unites Jammu and Kashmir.
“The electricity bills have increased too much, earlier it would be less,” Laxya Rajput, 27, a resident of Bakshi Nagar area in Jammu, told The Telegraph Online. “This has started ever since the smart meter system, an upgraded version has come to place. The bill which was Rs 400 before is now Rs 800. This is a 100 per cent increase in electricity cost.”
The campaigns by the BJP, Congress, NC and PDP have largely focused on larger political issues, such as the restoration of statehood or Article 370. BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, have iterated their stance on Article 370, stating it cannot be restored. They have also claimed that an NC-Congress government could lead to a resurgence of terrorism in the region.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has harped on restoring statehood, while the NC and the PDP have both focused on regaining Jammu and Kashmir's special status, maintaining that they will resist any encroachment by communal forces.
The voters pointed elsewhere when asked about their most pressing issues.
“The electricity bill used to come up to Rs 1,000 earlier, now it is coming to Rs 3,000. This has been going on since the past one-and-half to two years after the installation of smart meters,” said Shalinder Jamwal, a business owner in Jammu’s Purani Mandi area.
“The first two-three months were ok after the installation of this system, but then it gradually started increasing. We have to pay for water supply also. We do not expect such high prices for electricity and water supply. Whoever comes to power must make arrangements for this,” he added.
For many voters, especially in this second phase of polling, everyday issues like electricity and rising costs are taking precedence over political chaos. The elections come at a time when the people of Jammu and Kashmir are not only weighing the promises of political parties but are also worried about the immediate challenges they face in their daily lives.
“The electricity bills are fine but the problem I face as a businessman is frequent power cuts which affects my work process whenever I am selling,” Abhishek Gupta, 46, a businessman from Jammu’s Janipur, area told The Telegraph Online.
“However, I would like to add that no intellectual person is contesting elections here. No change will come in future also, as all are riding in the same boat. Whosoever comes whether BJP or someone else all will celebrate for their victory only, the general public would not get anything. In Delhi, Kejriwal was offering free electricity, but these are just promises as these are election tactics. The government should provide better facilities like solar panels then only we can get help from them. The government simply focuses on one thing: "we have to fill our pockets once we become a minister.”
