CPIM protest Electricity tarrif hike in Delhi

Comrade Vijender Sharma adressing the protestors

The Delhi State CPI (M)  on 28 June, 2012 held a demonstration at ITO to protest against the massive increase in power tariffs announced by the DERC two days ago. Hundreds of men and women participated.

The protestors were addressed by Anurag Saxena (CITU), Sehba Farooqui (JMS), Puran Chand (DYFI), Arjun Sengupta (SFI) and P.M.S. Grewal (CPI-M). Party State Secretariat member, Vijender Sharma presided over the protest meeting.

The speakers strongly condemned the Delhi State Government for heaping such a huge burden upon the people of Delhi. Power tariffs have increased by an unheard of 64% in just 10 months. Coming in the backdrop of high inflation, especially in food items, this hike in power tariffs is nothing but a brazen attack on the livelihood of the people. The alacrity, with which the Chief Minister has defended hikes in power tariffs, makes it amply clear that she has no concern for the people of Delhi. Instead she is behaving more like an agent of private power companies.

The speakers demanded immediate withdrawal of the recent power tariff hike. This must be followed by an independent and transparent audit of the accounts of the power companies, who as is known have been fudging their books to conceal the massive profits that they are actually making.

The demonstration ended with the resolve to take the campaign against the power hike to wider sections of the people for building pressure to force the government to withdraw these atrocious hikes in power tariffs.

Leaders too busy with power tussle to focus on drought in Karnataka : CPIM

The factional politics on the question of leadership change prevailing in the Bharatiya Janata Party has resulted in complete neglect of the severe drought situation in the State, according to the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Thursday, CPI(M) State Secretariat member Nityananda Swamy said that farmers, who had taken up sowing, were in deep crisis because of deficient rain.

Migration

“There is large-scale migration from north Karnataka and other drought-hit areas into cities like Bangalore,” said Mr. Swamy, adding that poor implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act had worsened the migration situation.

Daily wage workers in places such as Koppal and Bellary were migrating to far away places for wages far lower than what was promised under MNREGA, he said. Mr. Swamy said that the districts of Hyderabad-Karnataka and coastal regions had received only 43 per cent of the normal rainfall.

The nine districts of southern Karnataka had received 59 per cent of normal rainfall and Malnad districts of Kodagu, Shimoga and Chikmagalur had received 22 per cent of normal rainfall. The least rain of 10.02 mm was received in Koppal, said Mr. Swamy.

Inaction

While water-levels in reservoirs and power generation situation was dire, the Ministers were busy in factional fights, he said.

(Courtesy : The Hindu)