CPM joins TD against power tariff hike

Ungutur (West Godavari): Demanding withdrawal of hike in power tariff, activists of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), in association with Communist Party of India- Marxist (CPM), staged a protest demonstration on National Highway No 16 at Kaikaram village of Ungutur mandal in West Godavari district on Tuesday. The agitators burnt the effigy of the State government to register their anger over the burden on people. Traffic came to a standstill on the highway following the protest programme. Speaking on the occasion, leaders of the two parties flayed the government for frequently effecting hike in the tariff. They charged the Congress with ignoring welfare of the people. The government was subjecting the poor to unbearable suffering with its `anti-people' policies, they criticised. Local Communist leader G Venkata Krishna Rao, Rytu Sangham leader K Appa Rao, TDP leader K Appala Naidu and others led the agitation.