The Communist Party of India (CPI) city unit launched a Satyagraha against the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) decision to fix water meters and hike water charges from April 1.
Former corporators led by CPI city secretary Donepudi Sankar and others took part in the Satyagraha organised near Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram here on Tuesday. CPI senior leader and first mayor T. Venkateswara Rao, CPI (M) city secretary Ch. Babu Rao, Andhra Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary Muttavarapu Muralikrishna, Vijayawada Hotel Owners Association and others expressed their support to them.
Former MLAs K. Subba Raju and Sheik Nasar Vali, Mr. Sankar and others while addressing the gathering said that the VMC proposal would be a burden on the people. The VMC claims that the receipts were not matching the expenditure on water supply. The Corporation was making baseless calculations that it was receiving only Rs. 8 crore though the expenditure was Rs. 20 crore, they pointed out, and demanded that the VMC shelve its proposals.
