Oppn brouhaha over tariff hike

As expected, APERC struck a blow by giving a green signal to power tariff hike from April 1 thus administering a shock treatment to consumers across the State. The resurgent opposition went hammer and tongs against the decision and lined up an array of agitations to mount the pressure on the government to roll back the tariff hike. YSRCP: Kiran has no moral rightA to be CM Hyderabad: Strongly condemning the hike in power tariff, YSR Congress party on Saturday said that the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has no moral right to continue in office for going back on his party's poll promise. Addressing the press here, party official spokesperson B Govardhan said that his party will intensify the agitation against the government's anti-people policies by involving people from the grass-root level. On the one hand the government imposed continuous power cuts and on the other hand burdened the consumers by increasing tariffs. He alleged that the opposition TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu, instead of criticising the government, was blaming the former chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy for the present power crisis. People in the state were of the opinion that, things would have been different had YSR been around. YSRC party will intensify the power agitation, he added.

APERCA succumbed to Govt pressure Hyderabad: State secretary of the CPI (M) B V Raghavulu on Saturday condemned the government's decision to hike power tariff, due to which Rs 6,500 crore would be borne by power-users. In a statement, he alleged that the Electric Regulatory Commission had succumbed to the government's pressure, although the tariff was slashed following protests during the last few days. Raghavulu charged that the 'irrational' hike was a result of pressure exerted by the private power operators. Their collusion with the government would be exposed, if the ERC-government correspondence could be revealed. He urged various political parties and people to oppose the increased power charges.

Roll back hike: KCR

• TRS to participate in April 9 'State Bandh'

Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Saturday extended support to the "State bandh" on April 9 called by all left parties against hike in power charges and fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA). TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) who chaired two crucial meetings, Politburo and State Executive, at TRS Bhavan, here, decided to support the "State bandh". Also, Rao took a decision to launch a continuous fight against the government to press withdrawal of power tariff hike. He asked the TRS cadre to take up power agitation to the grass-root level and involve public in a big way. The meetings focused on strengthening the party in rural pockets, towns and in the GHMC areas. Besides, he would take a decision on the future course of action to press the centre on the long-pending Telangana demand. Later, senior party leader B Vinod demanded the government to immediately withdraw power tariff hike and FSA. It should focus on alternative measures instead, he said. Power crisis, he remarked, had a telling impact on industries and agriculture. While thousands of small and medium industries were closed, the arm sector was not receiving adequate water due to frequent power cuts. Another senior leader, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, expressed anguish over the increased power tariff which imposed a burden of Rs 6,300 crore on the people, in spite of opposition from all political parties. The party was gearing up its cadre to participate in the State bandh and make it a grand success by the participation of all TRS legislators. 'We would fight the anti-people policies of the government, he said.