Nara Lokesh leads lantern protest against electricity charges

Vijayawada: TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh held a lantern demonstration here on Thursday to highlight the plight of poor households in the state following power tariff hikes seven times in the past three years.

He arrived at the party office holding the lantern and accompanied by party leaders and cadres. They raised slogans against the YSRCP government for its ulterior policies to make the poor poorer.

Addressing a press conference on the occasion, the TDP MLC slammed the CM for imposing undue burden on the poor consumers by hiking Rs 1.40 per unit in 76 to 125 units category. The middle classes were also punished by hiking Rs 1.57 per unit in 126 to 220 units category. Poor and middle income households were scared to turn on bulbs and fans this summer.

Lokesh pointed out that the Chandrababu government supplied 24-hour quality power without any hike. He said there would have been no need to hike power charges had Jagan Mohan Reddy honoured the MoUs signed by the TDP government with the power companies. If the solar and wind power companies were to be encouraged as in the TDP government, it would have led to reduced power tariffs, he added.

He blamed Jagan Mohan Reddy for throwing the power sector into a serious crisis by purchasing electricity in the open market at Rs 9 to Rs 10 per unit. The CM had vowed not to hike power charges and had said that if possible he would reduce rates. But in just three years, he hiked charges for over 7 times and imposed a burden of Rs. 12,000 crore in the name of true-up charges, dues and so on.