Reports, Jan. 16 -- Beigh Irshad

Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has enforced prolonged power curtailments during the peak winter season, triggering widespread public outrage and raising serious questions about accountability, planning, and power sector reforms. Notably, several areas claimed to be 100 per cent smart-metered have also been subjected to these cuts, contradicting repeated government assurances of uninterrupted 24x7 power supply.

In urban areas, KPDCL has, over the past few days, begun enforcing 6 to 10 hours of power curtailment, spread across multiple time slots from morning till evening. The prolonged and unpredictable outages have severely disrupted daily life at a time when electricity is essent...