The residents of Bijbehara town in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district staged a protest against the installation of smart meters by the Power Development Department (PDD).
Eyewitnesses told The Kashmiriyat that scores of local residents on Saturday blocked the old highway raising slogans against the admin and the Power Development Department to demand that the installation of smart meters should be immediately stopped.
“Why is one order followed by the other to trouble common Kashmiris? From 2019, all we have seen is orders being issued against the interests of common Kashmiris,” a protesting woman said.
They said that they belong to the poor working class and hardly make 500 rupees a day. “How can we afford hefty electricity bills?” they asked.
The residents appealed the Administration to rollback its decision back, while having blocked the traffic on the Highway.
Later the Police officials reached the spot and pacified the protesters who dispersed off peacefully.
Pertinently, this is the third protest in the area that was staged against the installation of smart meters in Jammu Kashmir.