Secretary of the Jammu & Kashmir State Committee of the CPI(M) Mohd. Yousuf Tarigami has expressed serous concern over the erratic power supply and scarcity of essential commodities including ration, hospital supplies and LPG in the Kashmir valley and said the government must ensure that people in Kashmir are not neglected and sufficient arrangements are made before a snow-fall in the valley. “Not only the freezing temperature but the unscheduled power-cuts and inadequate supply of LPG cylinders has aggravated the situation further. The authorities seem hardly bothered about the problems faced by the common people in the valleyā€¯ he said.
Tarigami also said that to meet the challenge of winter vagaries, the administration need to ensure a better co-ordination between different departments, especially those providing essential services. “Though an early weather-warning system is in place, but in absence of the required resource-mobilisation, weather alerts do not serve any purpose,” he said. With chilly winters, there is a surge in different diseases in Kashmir so that government should also review its arrangements and take stock of supplies in hospitals, especially in rural areas of Kashmir, he observed.
 
Srinagar, November 17, 2013