Battling power cuts amid severe cold, Kashmiris fall back on kangris, hamams to keep warm

Srinagar : The residents of Kashmir are going back to traditional ways of coping with the intense cold wave conditions as frequent and unscheduled power cuts have rendered modern heating gadgets useless.

Kashmir is witnessing Chilla-i-Kalan, the 40-day harshest winter period. Srinagar city witnessed the coldest night in 33 years as the minimum dipped to bone-chilling minus 8.5 degrees Celsius on Saturday. Other places in the valley also experienced extreme sub zero temperatures, which led to freezing of water supply pipes in many areas.

Over the past couple of decades, residents of urban Kashmir had done away with traditional heating arrangements — wood-based ‘hamams’, ‘bukharis’ and wicker-claypot ‘kangri’ — as electricity supply had started improving year on year.

However, as Kashmir is going through one of the harshest winters in recent memory, the electricity in most parts of Kashmir at best is erratic, rendering the gadgets powered by electricity useless.

“Over the past few years, we had gotten used to using electric gadgets to keep ourselves warm. With 12 hour cuts every day, we have now gone back to kangris,” Yasir Ahmad, a resident of posh Gulbahar colony in Srinagar, said.

Ahmad feels his investment in installing an air conditioner at home has “gone waste”.

Abdul Ahad Wani, who resides in the old city’s Rainawari area, said he had converted his wood-fuelled hamam to electricity powered one.

“I thought using the wood hamam was cumbersome and electric hamam will be better as it is available on the push of a switch. People in power have a habit of proving us wrong,” Wani said.

With limited LPG and kerosene supply in the open market, the lack of electricity has meant good business for those selling traditional fuels like wood and charcoal.

“All I can say is the demand has been good this winter for wood. People have to keep themselves warm and there is nothing better than wood in these times,” Mohammad Abbas Zargar, a firewood dealer, said.

An official of the Kashmir Power Development Corporation (KPDCL) said while there was load shedding due to sharp rise in demand during winter, the claims of 16 hour cuts was exaggerated.

“We are trying out best to follow the load shedding schedule that has been announced already. However, due to overloading of the circuit, distribution transformers and other allied infrastructure sometimes gets damaged, leading to longer power cuts,” he said.

The official said although the KDPCL has maintained a transformer bank to ensure minimum disruption in services, the number of transformer damages go up exponentially during winter.

“Our staff is doing its job. We request people to use electricity judiciously and as per their load agreement,” he added.

Meanwhille, traffic authorities have asked motorists to drive slowly and carefully as roads in many areas are covered by a layer of ice early morning, rendering these slippery. — (PTI)