Jammu, Dec 20 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Congress on Monday expressed concerns over the acute power crisis triggered by the power development department (PDD) employees' strike, saying the union territory administration and the Centre have failed to deal with the situation.

Jammu and Kashmir has been facing a major power crisis as the shutdown by the PDD employees protesting against the government's proposal to privatise power distribution through a joint venture entered its third day on Monday.

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"It is a total failure of the UT administration to deal with the power and the water crises in entire Jammu and Kashmir. There are serious concerns over the issue," newly appointed J&K Congress working president Raman Bhalla told reporters here.

He termed it the worst-ever crisis which is causing great hardships to citizens, especially aged and ailing people.

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Opposing the privatisation of power, the Congress leader said the move was against the overall interests of poor consumers in the long run as common people will not be able to bear high power tariffs.

He justified the demands of the agitating employees and extended full support to them, while also appealing to them to take care of the sufferings of common people due to the blackout.

The senior Congress leader asked the government to immediately resolve the issue and restore power and water supply without any delay.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)