Srinagar: One person was killed and two others were injured on Monday when Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel opened fire to quell a mob protesting against power shortage in Boniyar area of North Kashmir's Baramulla district.
"One person has been killed in the firing and two others are injured," police said.
Official sources said a group of around 500 persons staged protests outside the NHPC-run Uri power project at Boniyar, 90 kms from here, against electricity crisis in the area this morning.
As the protestors marched towards the main gate of the power project, the CISF personnel guarding the complex allegedly opened fire, the sources said.
Altaf Ahmad Sood (25) died on the spot, while 70-year-old Abdul Majid Khan and 25-year-old Parvaiz Ahmad Khan sustained injuries, they said.
The sources said the firing incident led to tension in the area as the residents have gathered outside the power project demanding arrest of the CISF personnel responsible for the death.
Official sources said senior police and civil administration officials have rushed to the scene.
Anger has been brewing across Kashmir against the electricity curtailment schedule announced by Power Development Department last month which has plunged many areas of the valley into virtual darkness.
Residents in many areas of the state's summer capital, Srinagar, and other districts of the valley have held street protests against the government's load-shedding schedule.
People have accused the PDD authorities of not even adhering to the schedule announced a fortnight ago.
According to the schedule, the un-metered areas of Kashmir, which form the bulk of the consumers, have to face a cumulative load-shedding of 72 to 96 hours per week.
In the areas where digital meters are installed, the consumers have to bear with 24 hours of power cuts.
Protests broke out early last week in Sumbal area of Bandipora, Ganderbal district headquarter, Kulgam, Pahalgam and Kokernag against the load shedding schedule as residents alleged that they had to spend most of the time without electricity.
In Ganderbal, represented by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who also holds the power portfolio, people blocked the main road for more than two hours and burnt tyres as a mark of protest on December 27.
The traders' bodies have denounced the load-shedding schedule and demanded that the government reconsider it.
The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said the government move will harm the handicrafts and tourism sectors in the valley.
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