Reyaz Rashid
Baramulla, December 6, 2023: In a bid to curb widespread power pilferage in the Narvaw area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the Power Development Department (PDD) has initiated a robust crackdown on consumers engaged in illegal activities such as hooking, tempering, or bypassing electricity meters on Wednesday.
Frequent complaints regarding power theft in metered areas prompted the PDD to take decisive action against violators, imposing substantial penalties to deter such practices.
A vigilant team led by JE Narvaw Mohammed Iqbal Khan, alongside Inspector Sheeri Mehraj ud din Lone, lineman Abdul Rashid Bhat, Ghulam Mohi-ud-din Mir and other staff members, was formed to address the issue of hooking and control electricity theft.
The PDD’s checking team, under the leadership of JE Narvaw Mohammed Iqbal Khan, conducted surprise visits to various areas of Narvaw, including Fathegarh, Zogiyar and Sheeri, during both evening and morning hours. Their inspections revealed widespread instances of hooking and meter tampering, particularly in domestic and commercial settings.
“We paid surprise visits to many villages in the Narvaw area of Baramulla to check power pilferage and found open hooking by domestic as well as commercial consumers,” stated JE Narvaw Iqbal Ahmad Khan.
Highlighting the severity of the issue, Khan expressed, “The extent of power pilferage can be judged from the fact that during this week dozens of consumers have been found engaging in hooking. We have already collected fines amounting to thousands of rupees. It is very unfortunate that some of our consumers resort to illegal means of using electricity.”
Moreover, Khan emphasized that power pilferage contributes significantly to the transmission loss of electricity, placing an unfair burden on honest consumers who end up subsidizing these illicit activities.The crackdown on electricity theft aims to secure a fair and sustainable distribution of power while penalizing those undermining the integrity of the system.
The PDD remains committed to maintaining the reliability of the power supply and ensuring that consumers adhere to legal means of electricity usage.