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5.26% hike in power tariff for domestic consumers
Rahul Gandhi walks Mussoorie lanes
Power staff end fast
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Storm, rain hit life in Dehradun
ABVP locks school shop
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5.26% hike in power tariff for domestic consumers
Dehradun, May 26
It is also alleged that the new rates may put the UPCL in further financial trouble as the corporation, which had bought electricity worth Rs 1,720 crore last year, is slated to purchase power worth Rs 2,759 crore, shelling out Rs 1,000 crore extra this year. A member of the UERC Anand Kumar though made it clear that from the very beginning, their aim was not to burden the common man and they could finally make it after going through each minute detail regarding the expenditure and revenue of power corporations along with their estimates. A leader of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar faction), Shanti Prasad Bhatt, opposed the increase in the tariff rates. He said: “Our state earns 20 per cent royalty from all the hydro-power projects and at least 5 per cent of it should be passed on to the domestic consumers. By this yardstick, the consumers should not be charged more than Rs 1 per unit. People living in hill areas who hardly consume much electricity should also be spared of electricity bills.” Alluding to the CAG report, he said: “According to the CAG report, the line losses worth Rs 4,000 crore shown by the UPCL are actually the losses incurred due to power theft, in which officials of power corporations are thickly involved with the thieves. Therefore the consumers should not be punished to pay from their pockets each year to balance these losses.” The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) has also opposed the increase in the tariff rates. Surender Singh Sajvan, district secretary of the party, said the state government was giving a heavy exemption to the big industrialists who were supposed to pay the dues running in crores to the government, and was crushing the common man with financial burden.” Convener of the Nationalist Congress Party Manoj Dhyani, too, aired the same views, saying: “Uttarakhand is an energy state of the country. It should not impose an increase in tariff rates each year, and maintain affordable rates. Instead of charging it from the public, who is already struggling to survive the formidable inflation, the government should make the industrialists pay extra charges.”
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Rahul Gandhi walks Mussoorie lanes
Mussoorie, May 26 According to sources, a question-answer session was also held where the bureaucrats posed several questions regarding the present administrative structure of the country. Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of corruption at the senior level of the administration and said maintaining ethical standards should be the key while serving the country. Rahul who was scheduled to leave Dehradun by train yesterday had to cancel his departure due to the unexpected storm. Rahul Gandhi chose to walk around on Mall Road around 11 pm amid tight security. He was wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans. Later, he visited a close friend who lives at Maharajah Alvar Cottage, near picture palace, and returned to the guesthouse at the academy around midnight. Rahul left Mussoorie in the morning around 8.30 am. He took time out from his busy schedule and walked on foot from the academy till Library Bazar and further towards the Maharajah Kapoorthala’s chateau. His grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was fond of walking on the Mall Road during his stay in Mussoorie.
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Power staff end fast
Dehradun, May 26 Yogender Vishal, representative of the joint associations said, “Secretary, Uma Kant Panwar, has agreed to invite representatives of the three corporations to the talks to be held over the regularisation issue. He also accepted our demand of giving increased dearness allowance twice a year, equal pay for equal post, contribution of the department in the Employees Provident Fund and, increment in our salaries as per the Government Order dated May 24, last year.” Vishal expressed hope that action would soon be taken on agreed terms. He said with their protest, they could eventually force the state government to consider them their own employees rather than the ones outsourced from the Uttarakhand Poorv Sainik Kalyan Nigam.
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Storm, rain hit life in Dehradun
Dehradun, May 26 On the Sahastradhara road nearly 12 trees were uprooted. A tree, which was uprooted by the storm on the premises of the Mussoorie Dehra Development Authority office on the Chander road, caused a substantial damage to a house located adjacent to it. Three trees were rooted out in the Bombay Bagh locality while a big tree fell in the middle of the road opposite the Jal Sansthan Headquarters in Nehru Colony, leading to a traffic jam. Another uprooted tree caused traffic disruption at Singal Mandi. Many trees were uprooted in Harrawala, Vikas Nagar and other village on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, a portion of the ceiling of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Doon Hospital was damaged due to the stormy winds. The boundary wall of a school in the Race Course area opposite the District Library collapsed in the rain. Train services were also disrupted due to uprooted tress falling on tracks at a number of places. A large number of passengers were stranded at Dehradun Railway Station. It took nearly two hours to clear the tracks of logs of woods and the railway services were resumed. The departure of late night trains from Dehradun was also disrupted. The trains coming to Dehradun also arrived late. All-India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, who was on a visit to towns of Rishikesh and Mussoorie during, was forced to make a halt at Mussoorie at night. His security staff asked him to desist from travelling to Dehradun to board the train to Delhi amid the inclement weather. The rainstorm completely disrupted the power supply to Dehradun. While most parts of Dehradun went without electricity last night, the scenario remained quite the same today. It was only during the evening hours that the power supply was somehow normalised. The disruption in the power supply hit the water supply too, as pumps at various water schemes could not function. A large number of localities went without water. The authorities concerned had a tough time clearing the roads of the uprooted trees.
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ABVP locks school shop
Dehradun, May 26 After the ABVP protested against these shops that are fleecing the parents, the city magistrate had passed an order to all the city-based schools to shut down the shops. Though some schools followed the instructions, others failed to do so. Anshul Chawla, President, DAV College, and member of ABVP, said the private schools are prowling the parents in the name of stationery or other items. “The private schools are trespassing the guidelines passed by the state government. The government has also failed to deal with these schools as they have no command over them, this could cause problem during the elections that are slated for next year,” he affirmed. City magistrate MS Bisht, he said he had passed the matter to the District Education Officer and asked him to inquire about the same.
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Mussoorie, May 26
According to sources in Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), the officials in the corporation are not happy over the outcome as they had recommended an increase of 31 per cent in the rates. The sources say the new rates are being seen a compulsion of the state government to keep the tariff under control ahead of the Assembly elections. They say in the next financial year, there can be a significant increase in the tariff rates to balance the abysmal increase of the current financial year.