Power outage during Fajar prayers becoming new normal in Valley

Srinagar, Feb 19: Locals from different parts of Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley have expressed anguish over the failure of the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) to supply power during ‘Fajar’ (pre-dawn) prayers.
  
According to locals, it has become routine for the KPDCL to snap the power supply either before or shortly after the Fajar Azan.

  
They said power outages in Kashmir are rampant and frequent all day but it has now become a new norm for believers to do ablution and offer Fajar prayers in the dark.
 
“For the past month, I have been witness to the fact that as soon as a call for prayers is given from our local mosque, electricity disappears. Despite raising the issue with the concerned officials, nothing changed,” said a local Abdul Rehman from Batamalo area of Srinagar.
  
The same views were shared by an elderly man from the Mehjur Nagar area of Srinagar uptown.
  
A local from the Qamarwari area of Srinagar told the news agency Kashmir News Trust over the phone that the long power cuts have irked the people. “The KPDCL sucks the blood of poor people, dispatching fatty bills but not offering decent service,” he said. [KNT]