Srinagar- Despite purchase of additional electricity from Uttar Pradesh, Kashmir continues to experience frequent power cuts leading to a decline of over 60 per cent in the Valley’s industrial sector.
Shahid Kamili, president Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) complained that the ongoing power crisis has badly hit the industrial sector in the Valley.
He said that the insufficient power supply has not only mounted losses worth crores to the industrialists but has also led to a steep decline of production by 65 percent since last month.
“Even though we have limited hours of work, the industrial sector doesn’t get the desired power supply. The situation is such that the production has gone down by 65 per cent, which means a big loss to the sector,” he said.
Among the industries hit by power shortage, Kamili said, includes cold storage, apple grading and packaging industries besides furniture industries.
“These are some of the industries, which require uninterrupted supply of electricity. The machines used in these industries are automatic, which require constant supply of electricity. Our members are constantly saying that these industries are suffering due to the non-availability of abundant electricity during peak hours,” he said.
Echoing similar views, President Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) Javaid Ahmad Tenga said that the trade body was receiving SoS calls from various industrialists about the impact of the poor electricity supply.
“Handicraft artisans and dealers have been constantly telling us about the suffering of the sector due to the current power crisis. The tourism sector has also started facing problems now. There is a massive drop in production by industries currently,” he said.
The power shortage, Tenga said, was also leading to the cost escalation to the industries.
“Everything currently works on generators which leads to the cost escalation to the industrialists. We recently approached the government with the demand to ensure uninterrupted power supply but nothing has happened so far,” he said.
The KCCI has demanded the establishment of a fact-finding committee to delve into the underlying factors responsible for the ongoing power crisis in Kashmir. (With KNO inputs)
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