Noisy scenes mar public hearing

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 16. Noise, protests and boycotts, directed against the power tariff hike, rocked a public hearing held by the Government at the Hyderabad Collectorate here on Friday, with the A.P. Transco's Joint MD, Mr. Bhanwarlal, and engineers incharge of metro zone in the Chair, seeking opinions and suggestions on the draft anti-pilferage bill.

The meeting, which started with an introductory speech on the menace of pilferage by Mr. Bhanwarlal, faced a rough weather, with political leaders, office-bearers of residents' welfare associations and a few individuals, who were participants, turning against the ``unjust and unfair'' tariff hike.

Leaders from the Left parties and the Congress(I), which are on a combined agitation against the hike, placed the presiding officer in a tight corner saying they would not allow the exercise to go ahead unless a resolution was adopted asking the Government to reduce the tariff.

At one stage, those belonging to the Congress(I), headed by the party's city general secretary, Mr. G. Chenna Reddy, shouted slogans against the Chief Minister and the hike. They staged a walkout and those of the Rashtriya Rythu Sangham, CITU, CPI-(ML New Democracy) and Pragatiseela Mahila Sangham, who waited in the wings for an opportunity, only followed suit.

Mr. Syed Sajjad, MIM legislator, joined them, complaining that the Government mobilised 8,000 strong policemen into the city to suppress the ``people's revolt''. Mr. Premsingh Rathod, another city MLA of the BJP, too expressed ire against the hike and termed it ``too steep''.

While office-bearers of various associations were not categorical on the bill, the only man who spoke in support was Mr. Mohanlal Gupta, president, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

In his speech, Mr. Bhanwarlal announced that the bill would come into effect from July 1 and it would go a long way in curbing theft of power. The extent of pilferage in the city was 30 per cent and it should be of concern to any citizen.

The reaction to this statement was imminent and the first salvo was fired by Mr. V. Srinivasa Rao of Rashtriya Rythu Sangham. He found no meaning in public hearings as the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission had issued orders for the tariff increase despite protests voiced by almost all the 26 participants.

Mrs. V. Sandhya, president, Pragatiseela Mahila Sangham, stated that pilferage was a failure of the A.P. Transco and the bill an ``evil design'' of the Chief Minister to divert public attention.

Mr. C. K. Ramakantha Chetty of Lok Satta felt that the anti-theft law might not sustain itself as it was too harsh and that officials under this would be too busy searching for thieves leaving their regular work.

The office-bearers of Anandnagar, Ayodhya Nagar and Mehdipatnam residents' welfare associations, and a few advocates who remained till the meeting ended, suggested modifications to the draft provisions. One suggestion offered to the provision prescribing punishment of disconnection for six years in case of theft was that the law should pin point whether it would be the person who would undergo the punishment or the household. If the latter was to undergo punishment for a mistake done by a person, an entire family might have to suffer for want of electricity.

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Section  : Southern States
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