SRINAGAR: A day after recording season’s coldest night temperature at minus 1.8°C, Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K, witnessed another sub-zero night, officials said on Thursday.
A Meteorological Department official said in a statement that there was a slight increase in minimum temperature across the Kashmir Valley including Srinagar which recorded a low of minus 0.8°C against minus 1.8°C on the previous night. The temperature was minus 0.9°C below normal for this time of the year in the capital city, he said.
Qazigund, the gateway town of Kashmir, recorded a minimum of minus 0.5°C against minus 0.8°C on the previous night, he said. The minimum temperature was minus 0.5°C below normal for the place, the official said.
Pahalgam, the famous resort in South Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 1.8°C against minus 3.3°C on the previous night and it was 0.6°C above normal for the place.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, recorded a minimum of 0.7°C which was above normal for the place by around 0.1°C, the official said.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir recorded a low of 0.2°C which was 0.7°C above normal, the official said.
Gulmarg recorded a low of 0.4°C and it was above 2.5°C above normal for the world famous skiing resort in north Kashmir, the official said.
Jammu, the winter capital of J&K, recorded a minimum of 11.6°C which was above normal by 0.1°C for the place, he said.
Regarding the forecast, he said, generally cloudy weather is expected with light rain/snow at isolated higher reaches in next 24 hours. From 24th-26th November, he said, generally dry weather is expected. From 27th-30th November, he said, generally cloudy weather with light rain/snow at isolated higher reaches is expected.
From 1st-3rd December, he said partly to generally cloudy weather is expected.
The MeT official said that shallow to moderate fog is likely to continue till November 28 over many places of Kashmir division.
Power Shortage in Kashmir
Unscheduled and scheduled power supply curtailments continued to haunt residents of J&K. The scenario in Kashmir continues to remain dismal despite assurances from the local authorities that power supply position will be improved to provide respite from the intensified cold wave.
With the government vowing to improve the electricity scenario in the valley, the authorities have claimed that the demand in the non-metered areas of Kashmir have increased eight times more than the areas where smart meters have been introduced.
The officials while divulging the details to a local news gathering agency KNO said that there has been an abrupt increase in the demand of electricity in wake of the early winter conditions.
“The demand at present has increased to 1900 Megawatts, but at the same time, the in-house power generation is too low,” the officials said.
At this juncture, the public response is quite contrary as the overloading has turned out a major reason behind the unscheduled power cuts here, which is a cause of concern for one and all, the officials said, adding that the consumers who have been connected with the smart meters have been acting responsibly as the demand amidst the prevailing winter conditions has increased by just over one per cent.
The officials, however, stated that in the non-metered areas where the flat rate continues, the demand has increased 8 times more than the metered areas, which shows how the public in these areas are resorting to the excessive use of electricity, which needs to be curbed.
When asked about the accelerating night inspections, the official said that the complaints of illegal hooking in the metered areas was being received from different areas, thus the department has decided to act tough against the power theft to combat hooking.
Kashmir has been grappling with worst-ever power crisis while the government had claimed that the situation will be improved as a panel has already been constituted by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta with regard to the procurement of additional electricity to meet the power demand.
PDP Protest Against Power Shortage
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leaders and workers on Thursday staged a protest outside the party office here against the electricity crisis in Kashmir, officials said here.
The PDP workers, led by Asiea Naqash, Abdul Qayoom Bhat and Arif Laigroo tried to march from the PDP office near Sher-e-Kashmir Park here towards Lal Chowk to protest against the electricity shortage in the valley at the beginning of the long winter period.
However, a posse of policemen prevented the protestors, holding placards and posters demanding an end to power cuts, from marching beyond the adjacent General Post Office (GPO).
“To wake up the administration from a deep slumber, the PDP workers and leaders from Srinagar staged a protest today. Kashmir has plunged into darkness due to the worsening power crisis,” PDP spokesperson Mohit Bhan said.
“The residents are enduring endless hardships, and the J&K administration’s incompetence is glaring. Basic necessities have been compromised and yet the ones in charge seem oblivious to it,” Bhan added.
Congress Protest Over Power Crisis
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee workers also tried to stage a protest against the power crisis at Maulana Azad Road here but were prevented by police from leaving their party office.
“There is no electricity supply even in hospitals while they (officials) are spending money on driving around the town,” one of the protesters said.
Have you liked the news article?