The Congress party laid siege to the Madhya Pradesh Power Distribution Company’s (MPPDC) headquarters on Wednesday against the hiked electricity bills and undeclared power cuts in the State capital.
Hundreds of Congress workers led by former Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee spokesman Arif Masood gathered near Apsara talkies and from there moved in a rally to MPPDC headquarters at Govindpura. Women present in large number in the rally were shouting slogans taunting on the much publicised scheme of the State Government Atal Jyoti. The Congress workers were shouting ‘ye kaisi Atal Jyoti – roz ho rahi bijli katouti’ (how is this Atal Jyoti, power cuts are happening daily).
Bhopal District Congress Committee (BDCC) president PC Sharma, Corporators Mohammed Sagheer, Raeesa Malik, Rafique Qureshi, Mevalal Kanarjee and Shawar Mansuri and others including BDCC office-bearers were present on the occasion.
Masood addressing the gathering on the occasion said that electricity bills to the tune of Rs40,000 to Rs50,000 are served to the people living in shanties and come under below poverty line (BPl) causing mental harassment and other problems. These bills should be corrected and one lamp connection should be provided free of cost to the people living in shanties.
Sharma said that the unannounced power cuts are making life difficult for the people of the city and State. The cleanliness work done by the municipal corporation is also getting affected due to the power cuts and the water supply is also getting hit by it, he added.