Mehbooba Mufti directs PDD to ensure hassle-free power

SRINAGAR: To check power cuts, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has asked the state electricity department to ensure hassle-free power supply during winter season in the Kashmir valley.

During a meeting with the officials of the Power Development Department (PDD) yesterday, Mufti asked them to be prepared for the season, an official spokesman said today.

She was chairing the District Electricity Committee (DEC) meeting convened to review the progress of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir, he said.

"PDD officials should beef up their technical staff and machinery to reach out to the people with better services," the PDP president said while calling for judicious use of electricity.

To augment and improve the power supply, new receiving stations would be constructed at Chandgam in Pulwama, at Trenz in Shopian and at Dyalgam in Anantnag. A transformer bank will also be set up at each district headquarter to replace the damaged ones (transformers), she said.

She was told by the officials that total cost of DDUGJY for Jammu and Kashmir is Rs 1,249.68 crore which includes Rs 86.53 crore for electrification of the 83 un-electrified villages and Rs 69.21 crore for feeder separation.

"Under DDUGJY, installation of new distribution transformers and augmentation of existing distribution transformers will also be dealt with," Chief Engineer, PDD, Kashmir, Bashir Ahmad Khan said.

Distribution transformers and associated transmission lines would be relocated for regrouping of consumers (agriculture and non-agriculture), he said.