The CPI city unit staged a dharna in front of the sub-station at Krishnalanka to protest against the increase in power tariff on Wednesday.
The CPI activists led by city secretary Donepudi Sankar raised slogans against the increase and demanded its immediate rollback.
The speakers said the increase was a burden of the order of Rs.125 crore on people of the city and Rs.4,400 crore on people of the State. The steep hike in the electricity charges would hit the salaried and middle class hard besides making it unviable for the industries. The increase had come at a time when people were reeling under prolonged power cuts besides power holidays. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that a subsidy of Rs.175 crore would benefit 44 lakh consumers across the State. His tall promises, however, did not translate into reality, they alleged.