Noida, Sep 15 (IANS) Nearly 200 farmers from Gautam Budh Nagar district under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) staged a protest at the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) office here on Wednesday.
Farmers said the UPPCL sent arbitrary electricity bills and if the farmers failed to pay, they are harassed unnecessarily. The farmers locked the door of the power discom office at Noida's sector 16 and continued their protest outside.
The farmers said they are fed up with illegal recovery by UPPCL officials. "These days a vigilance team visits the villages to check power theft. The vigilance team says they have come for inspection on the direction of UPPCL. They ask people in villages to pay them, otherwise they are charged for power theft," said a Gautam Budh Nagar based BKU leader, Subhas Chaudhari.
The farmers said several electricity transformers are defunct in the villages and when they ask the officials to replace them, the officials ask for a bribe. The agitating farmers also alleged that the power department officials cut the power supply for hours.
"We are fed up with arbitrary decisions of UPPCL and we will not call off this protest until we are assured that such things are not repeated in future," Chaudhari added.
Claiming that the villagers have taken legal power connections and that they pay electricity bills every month, the farmers alleged that UPPCL does not send proper bills to the consumers in the villages but later come to collect money.
Besides these, the farmers also alleged that UPPCL is denying electricity connections in the villages that are located along the Yamuna Expressway. "If UPPCL wants to stop power theft, then why does it not send monthly electricity bills in the villages? And when they do not send monthly bills, then why do they later ask people to pay hefty bills? There are several issues which need to be stopped immediately," said another local farmer, Suresh Awana.
The farmers reached the power company office at around noon and camped at the main gate. They brought with them their traditional hookahs and later also cooked food at the site.
The protesters finally vacated the spot at around 5.30 p.m.
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) to operate the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport in the adjoining Thane-Raigad region, an official said here.
The session ensued a detailed discussion about the rising air pollution as well as the steps that need to be taken up by authorities as well as the community to manage the deteriorating air quality.
After Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh met the party panel on the state in the national capital on Tuesday, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has stepped in to defuse the tension in the state unit. Gandhi has given utmost importance to the state, meeting stake holders who have sought time from him, said sources.
The Delhi police have arrested two men for breaking into a bank in Shahdara area and fleeing with nearly Rs 55 lakh, officials said. Police have also recovered hammer, chisel, and helmets from their possession.
The induction ceremony was held in the holy city of Amritsar, some 300 km from the state capital, where Kejriwal came on a day-long visit.After joining the politics, Kunwar Vijay Pratap blamed the accused of the sacrilege case for dictating the state government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated the people of the country for a record single day vaccination drive on Monday. Expressing happiness over the fact that 80 lakh people got the vaccine jab on Monday, the Prime Minister praised the frontline Corona warriors for their hard work via a Twitter post.
