Protest demonstrations were held in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir against the anti-people policies of the authorities.
Kashmiri Pandits staged a massive protest against the administration in the Jagti township of Jammu district.
Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits raising slogans against the admin and Jammu Power Development Corporation Limited (JPDCL) demanded that the order of electricity charges recently imposed on Kashmiri Pandits should be revoked.
Electricity bill at the Pandits’ camps was earlier covered under the security and relief measure funds. On May 23, the JPDCL issued an order to charge the consumers living in the camps for their power consumption.
“The administration is conspiring against the Kashmiri Pandits. We are not living here with our choice. This is not even our house. We are living in temporary settlements in Jagti town,” a female pro-testor said.
They claimed that the Pandits were being forced to sign agreements with the Power Development Department. “Because we have not signed the agreements, the Department has cut down our elec-tricity. It is a complete power outage in the Pandit colony in Jagti,” said another protestor.
“Does the BJP only want to use Kashmiri Pan-dits for their nationalist agenda, because it seems that the party does not care to listen to us. We are living on a stipend of 9,000 rupees a month. Do they (BJP) only want to earn votes using us? Why is the media not coming to us now? Do we only matter when we are used for films that earn votes and money,” a protestor asked.
People took to the streets at several places in Srinagar to express their opposition to the installation of smart meters. Protesters from Rajouri Kadal, Wazapora, and Tengpora emerged from their homes and blocked roads, denouncing the unilateral and unnecessary actions of the Kashmir Power Distribu-tion Corporation Limited (KPDCL) in installing the meters.
“We have been diligently paying our electricity bills, but suddenly they appeared out of nowhere, cutting off the power supply and installing these meters. However, we are not financially capable of paying the tariffs based on meter readings. We are not against the idea, but shouldn’t the authorities consider the people’s ability to pay?” the protesters said.—KMS
