Date:18/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/18/stories/2007121852470300.htm

Tamil Nadu

Congress members stage demonstration in protest against unscheduled power cuts

Staff Reporter

Cadres demand uninterrupted power supply

For power: Members of the Congress party staging a demonstration in protest against unscheduled power cuts in front of the TNEB office at Kumar Nagar in Tirupur on Monday.

TIRUPUR: As many as 200 members of the Congress on Monday staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Executive Engineer of Tamil Nadu Electricity Board here in protest against unscheduled power cuts.

Slogans raised

Led by town unit president of Tirupur Town Congress Committee, R. Sundarrajan, the protestors carrying torches raised slogans demanding uninterrupted power supply for Tirupur.

They said that the garment and weaving units were severely affected due to the erratic power supply.

They also said that the power cuts were affecting the students and traders.

Memorandum

Tirupur north block Congress president A. Ramasamy and Youth Congress leader S.A. Duraisamy among others took part in the agitation.

In a memorandum to Electricity Minister Arcot N. Veerasamy, Mr. Sundarajan said that the exporters and workers had been badly affected due to the power cuts, which resulted in production loss.

As the exporters were facing difficulty due to the appreciation of rupee against dollar, the use of generators would increase their production cost.

Losing orders

“The power cuts, by increasing the production cost, would lead to the industry losing fresh orders. Thus thousands of workers would lose their jobs.”

In order to protect the workers and weavers in Tirupur, Somanur, Palladam, Avanashi, Perunthurai and Kangeyam, the Government should ensure uninterrupted power supply to the textile belt, Mr. Sundarajan said.