Vijayawada: Power tariff rise triggers state-wide protests

Vijayawada: Opposition parties on Thursday staged state-wide protests against hike inelectricity tariffannounced by the government.

Main opposition TDP and the Left parties staged dharnas, took out rallies and organised innovative protests demanding a roll back.

The Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Wednesday issued the Retail Tariff Order for 2022-23, increasing the tariff for domestic consumers.

The tariff hike ranges from 45 paise to Rs 1.57 per unit in six different slabs for domestic consumption.

The tariff hike triggered protests by opposition parties in the state, which demanded an immediate rollback.

TDP national general secretary Nara Lokesh held a lantern demonstration in Amaravati on Thursday to highlight the plight of poor households in the state following current charges hikes for seven times in the past three years of the YSRCP regime.

Lokesh arrived at the party office holding the lantern and accompanied by party leaders and cadres. They raised slogans against the YSRCP government.

TDP state president K Atchannaidu on Thursday held the Jagan Mohan Reddy government's "inefficiency" responsible for the non-stop hikes in current charges in the past three years.

He said that the latest increase in current charges would put an additional burden of Rs 4,400 crore on the people every year. This was in addition to the Rs 11,600 crore burden already imposed by the Jagan regime through charges hikes for five times in the past.

In Vijayawada, TDP MLA Gadde Rammohan resorted to novel protest. He held a begging bowl seeking alms to pay electricity bill.

CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna led a dharna in Kadapa.

He said people were already burdened with the hike in prices of petrol, diesel and LPG and the state government has now added the burden by hiking electricity tariff.

Left parties staged protest in Eluru, and Vizianagaram. In Visakhapatnam, the CPI-M and its affiliated organisations staged the protest demanding rollback.

Rallies were taken out in Kurnool, Guntur and other places.