A large number of leaders and workers of the Left parties were taken into custody as the police foiled a “siege the Collectorate” programme, organised on Tuesday in protest against the steep hike in power tariff surcharge and demanding its rollback and withdrawal of power surcharge adjustment, running in to nearly Rs. 12,000 crore.
A big posse of policemen was at the Collectorate since morning and the policemen and women struggled with the protestors as they tried to enter the Collectorate premises. Earlier the protestors raised slogans against the government charging it with making life miserable for people. While some lay on the road others tried to scale the closed gates of the Collectorate. There were arguments between the police and protestors.
The leaders while addressing the protestors blasted the government for burdening people with high power tariff and using the police to curb any protest. The additional burden of Rs. 12,723 crore proposed by the discoms, was done at the behest of the State government, they alleged. They would add to the burden of the spiralling prices of commodities, power cuts, hike in APSRTC bus fare, reduction in number of subsidised LPG refills for domestic users, said CPI (M) district secretary Ch. Narasinga Rao. CPI district secretary J.V. Satyanarayana Murthy said the government was responsible for hike in natural gas and coal, needed for power production.
The protestors were dragged, pushed and lifted into the vans and shifted to the II Town Police Station. More than 400 were taken into custody. An office-bearer of the IT industries association O. Naresh Kumar arranged fruits to the protestors and supported the agitation against high power tariff and irregular power supply.
Among those arrested were Mr. Narasinga Rao, Mr. Murthy, other Left parties leaders like B. Ganga Rao, M. Pydiraju, K. Satyanajaneya, G.V.N. Reddy, M.V.N.R. Patnaik, Y. Kondayya, A. Appa Rao, A.J. Stalin, S. Ramesh, M. Suryanarayana, R.K.S.V. Kumar, K. Lokanatham, Botta Eswaramma, G. Vamana Murthy, A. Vimala, V. Lakshmi, R. Bhagyalakshmi, B. Padma, M. Subba Rao and others, belonging to CPI, CPI-M, CPI MCPI (U), CPI-ML and CPI (ML-New Democracy).
