JAMMU: Mission Statehood workers, under the leadership of President Sunil Dimple, organized a vigorous protest on Janipur High Court Road, drawing a large crowd of traders and community members. The demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the Power Development Department (PDD) by burning copies of their electricity bills, citing issues such as incorrect billing, prolonged power outages during the sweltering summer, and a critical shortage of drinking water from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department.
Addressing the crowd, Sunil Dimple accused the PDD of lacking accountability, delivering erroneous bills, and harassing low-income families with extended power cuts. He issued a warning about staging a massive sit-in outside the Chief Engineer's office of the PDD and at various divisions in the near future.
Dimple criticized both the PDD and PHE for imposing exorbitant tariff bills, threatening to cut electricity if payments are even a day late, and failing to provide reliable electricity and drinking water to the residents of Jammu city. He pointed out that many main roads and streetlights are non-functional.
He further alleged that numerous transformers and infrastructure in wards, including those in Gladni Grid and Janipur, are in disrepair and not operating effectively. Dimple claimed that fluctuations in the power supply have damaged various household appliances, including fans and air conditioners.
The protest highlighted the lack of communication regarding billing issues, with Dimple stating that there are no SMS notifications about paid bills, and there is confusion over where the payments are going. He demanded the return of local power projects such as Salal, Uri, and Ratli, as well as the waiver of electricity bills for poor families.
Dimple also called for an end to the supply of electricity from J&K power projects to other states, insisting that local residents' needs must be prioritized. He pointed out that electricity curtailment has worsened since the privatization of the J&K PDD and the installation of smart meters.
In his concluding remarks, Dimple urged the government to provide 500 units of free electricity per month to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Other leaders present at the protest included Bramu Sharma, Sanjay Sethi, Sudershan Sharma, Rinku Sharma, Raju, and many others.
