Sizzling Studum Colony Azadgunj Baramulla Left in Dark despite Metered Area, Patients and Industry Suffer
REYAZ RASHID
BARAMULLA, JULY 5, 2025: Amidst a brutal heat wave gripping the region, residents of Studum Colony, Ward 10 Azadgunj, are locked in a desperate struggle against an inexplicable power crisis, their fury mounting as darkness and disruption persist despite their location within Baramulla town’s municipal limits and mere stones throw from the vital Azadgunj Grid Station.
The core of the outrage lies in a baffling administrative anomaly: while Studum Colony falls squarely within Baramulla’s urban jurisdiction, its electricity supply is inexplicably tethered to the rural village of Wankura Binner Rafaiabad. This illogical pairing, residents allege, is the root cause of their torment – erratic power characterized by fleeting one-minute bursts of electricity followed by agonizing hour-long blackouts.
“This isn’t just inconvenience; it’s torture, especially in this furnace,” fumed President Ward 10 Irfan Nazir, a long-time resident, wiping sweat from his brow. “We pay metered bills like any town dweller, yet we are treated worse than a remote hamlet. The lights flicker on for a second, then vanish. Our children can’t study, we can’t sleep, and our appliances are being ruined.”
The crisis transcends mere discomfort, plunging into the realm of life-threatening neglect. Several households harbor patients dependent on electrically powered oxygen concentrators.
“My mother relies on that machine,” shared a distraught Firdous Ahmad, his voice thick with anxiety. “Every time the power cuts, her breathing becomes laboured. We panic, we scramble for backup that barely lasts. This erratic supply isn’t just poor service; it’s playing with lives. The authorities seem oblivious to our suffering.”The economic toll is equally severe.
Local industrial units and numerous band saw machines, crucial for livelihoods, lie idle or operate sporadically.”How can we run machinery?” questioned Farooq Ahmed, owner of a small woodworking unit. “The power is so unstable, it damages equipment and makes consistent work impossible. We are losing customers and money daily. This is crippling us during what should be peak season.”
The proximity to the Azadgunj Grid Station adds insult to injury. Residents point towards the facility, a symbol of unfulfilled promise. “We can practically see the grid station from our rooftops,” stated Haseena Begum, gesturing angrily. “Yet, we are forced to share a strained, rural line. It defies all logic and smacks of gross official apathy. Why is a municipal area being treated like a neglected village?”
Calls for immediate intervention are growing louder and more desperate. Residents demand their supply be swiftly severed from the Wankura Binner feeder and connected directly to the Baramulla town network, commensurate with their municipal status and proximity to the grid.
As the mercury soars and tempers fray, Studum Colony remains trapped in a dangerous limbo – a metered, urban enclave plunged into darkness by an irrational rural tether, its residents battling the heat while their pleas for basic, reliable power seemingly fall on deaf ears. The health of vulnerable patients and the survival of local industry hang precariously in the balance.
When contacted about Studum Colony’s crippling outages, AEE PDD Baramulla Subdivision, Er. Mohammad Shafi, acknowledged a recent disruption. ‘Power supply on the Binner feeder was temporarily hampered by falling tree branches causing a technical fault,’ Shafi stated, ‘but service has since been restored.’
Addressing the core grievance of residents trapped on a rural feeder despite their urban location, Shafi offered a glimmer of hope: ‘While Studum Colony is currently served en route via the Binner feeder, a formal proposal to shift the area onto the Azadgunj Grid feeder has been submitted. This critical realignment,’ he affirmed, ‘will be executed imminently.'”