District units of Rashtriya lok Dal (RlD) staged demonstrations across the state to protest hike in power tariff and demanded the state government to roll it back on Wednesday. The agitators later handed over a memorandum of demands to Governor Ram Naik though respective District Magistrates.
In lucknow, a large number of RlD workers led by state president Dr Masood Ahmad, national spokesman Anil Dubey, city unit chief Satrohan lal Rawat and Mahanagar unit chief Mehboob Alam, demonstrated and demanded the state government to take back its regressive decision. Addressing workers during the demonstration, RlD leader Anil Dubey questioned the state government's justification on increasing power tariff.
“The average monthly income of a farmer is Rs 4923 and he will have to pay Rs 850 per month for domestic consumption and Rs 2000 per month for electric-run tubewells. Is that justified IJ” he questioned.
Dubey said that the decision being taken by the BJP government were aimed at benefiting the affluent class and for them, sufferings of farmers and poor had no meaning.
State RlD chief Dr Masood asked if the state government was spending the monetary help given to UP Power Corporation limited for benefit of farmers to provide them power supply at lower rate or it was being consumed in the name of line loss (which is about 27. 6 per cent presently) to benefit industrialists.
Masood said that anti-farmer BJP government in the state was destroying the rural economy by issuing impractical decisions.
“The state government’s decision had broken the back of the farmers and the RlD will fight till the end for the farmers,” he said.
later, RlD leaders handed over a nine-point memorandum to district administration officials to apprise them of their demands.