Govt may dispense with free power

Machilipatnam, April 3, 2013: Coming down heavily on the Government for not supplying free power to farmers even for three hours a day, Smt. Y. S. Sharmila said she will not be surprised if the Government dispenses with the free power scheme completely.

Addressing a huge public meeting at Machlipatnam during the course of her Padayatara on Tuesday, she said the Government has turned a blind eye even as thousands of industries are being closed and lakhs of workers losing jobs due to power woes.

“What happened to your promise of providing employment to 35 lakh persons by bringing in an investment of Rs.6 lakh crores?” she questioned CM Kiran Kumar Reddy.

While the farmers are hardly getting a 3-hour free power supply a day, the domestic consumers are also being subjected to harassment with a 4-hour supply of power, she said, expressing doubts over the continuation of even the nominally existing free power supply scheme.”It will be no surprise if Kiran Kumar Reddy totally dispenses with it in a few days,” she said.

She said Kiran Kumar Reddy is not serious over the issue. “He is just laughing it away by saying there won’t be any use with the power supply when there is no ground water,” she said, adding the CM’s comments reflect the Government’s lackadaisical approach towards the problem.

Charging the Government with imposing an additional financial burden of Rs. 6500 Cr on the people through the recent hike in power tariff, she said the Congress rule is akin to that of Naidu.

Smt. Sharmila said while the Government has given up implementing the promises made by YSR, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu has been protecting such a Government despite the mounting problems of the people.