Political outfits, particularly those owing allegiance to left parties have upped their ante against the power tariff hike in the State, starting from Monday.The outfits are also getting massive support from common people as the State is going to witness the third power tariff increase in three years.
Hundreds of SUCI (Communist) activists of Cuttack district on Saturday staged a demonstration in front of the power distribution company Cesu protesting against the tariff hike. Addressing the gathering, the party leaders demanded rollback of the proposed hike and privatisation of power generation and its distribution.
Cuttack district SUCI(C) secretary Biswabasu Das said that despite massive public outcry, the Government has conceded to the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (OERC) diktat of increasing the power tariff for the third time in last three years. He said that when the privatisation, globalisation and liberalisation era began in the country in the early 1990s, Odisha was the first State to go in for privatisation in the power sector promising quality power at reasonable cost.
“But after two decades of privatisation in the power sector, the State is reeling under acute power shortage, high tariff and poor distribution of power. While the private companies are filling up their coffers without making any investment in this sector, the poor consumers are facing the brunt,” Das said, adding that poor management of the sector by the private companies is ruined.
“Quality electricity has now become a mirage. The claims made about two decades ago that the power sector in Odishawould be the best in the country as private companies would pump in heavy investments to make available low-cost electricity are turning out to be big jokes,” the speakers at the meeting said.