Members of Public Welfare Society Association (PWSA) have taken strong objection to what they called attempts to privatise maintenance of street lamps and a few other areas by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC).
In a statement issued on Monday, president of the PWSA Ch. Babu Rao alleged that the VMC was trying to shirk responsibility on the pretext of ‘electricity conservation'.
He said the VMC move to hand over street lamps' maintenance and a few other services to a private company called ‘Real Energy' had paralysed services in the city.
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Many areas in the city had plunged in darkness. He said the successive Governments had been extending their tacit support to private players to occupy centre stage in almost every important area, leaving the common man high and dry.
He said it was unwise on the part of the VMC to go ahead with privatisation of street lights after witnessing that similar attempts in other sectors had failed miserably. He demanded that the authorities concerned re-consider their stand on the issue.