POWER CONSUMER BODY SEEKS SPEAKER’S HELP

LUCKNOW: Taking the 40-day long agitation against power tariff hike forward, the UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad on Saturday called on Vidhan Sabha speaker Mata Prasad Pandey and minister of state for science and technology Abhishek Mishra, urging them to help consumers get relief from the ‘illegally’ increased power tariff. In a statement, parishad president Avadhesh Kumar Verma claimed that both the speaker and the minister assured to refer the matter to chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Verma, in his representation to them, said that the steep power tariff hike announced in May for domestic consumers and farmers was not in keeping with the law. “Also, the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission did not adopt any transparency while deciding the tariff and was also guided by the UP Power Corporation Ltd, the licencee’s dictates in preparing the tariff order,” he alleged. He declared that he would intensify the stir in coming days if the tariff was not rolled back.