Srinagar, July 18 : Residents of Chattabal locality in central Kashmir’s Srinagar Tuesday protested against installation of smart meters in the area, demanding immediate roll back of the drive by authorities.

The protesters said the PDD has discontinued the electricity in the area on July afternoon, leading huge inconvenience to people amidst scorching heat wave and other medical emergencies. “We are without power supply from Monday afternoon. We have elder patients at home who needs uninterrupted oxygen supply to survive. Unfortunately the PDD officials stopped the electricity supply and put our patients at risk,” a protesting woman told KNS.

The protesting women said the locality comprises of hand to mouth earners and cannot afford charges of smart meters. “Our men are earning livelihood through doing labour. They earn rupees 500 hardly in a day. How we can pay 5000 or beyond like electricity bills,” another woman said.

The protesters appealed to higher authorities to roll back the drive immediately and restore the power supply in the area.

Pertinent to mention that several areas including Shah Mohalla, Nawab Bazar, Batamaloo etc held continuous protest against installation of smart meters in recent past days who urged authorities to intervene into the matter on compassionate grounds.