SS protest against power tariff hike: 200 held,trucks torched

Over 200 Shiv Sena workers,including senior party leaders Subhash Desai and Gajanan Kirtikar,were arrested here on Wednesday for carrying out violent protests and burning three trucks against power tariff hike. Protesters torched three trucks,including two owned by Reliance Energy,at Kandivli and Goregaon suburbs and over 200 demonstrators were arrested,police said.

The Western Expressway was also jammed as hundreds of Sena workers staged demonstrations against the power tariff hike announced by various companies. Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Wednesday asked consumers in Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra not to pay their electricity bills to protest the ‘steep rise’ in the tariffs. Asking consumers not to pay bills,Desai said,”If representatives of these companies come to disconnect your power connection,stop them by taking help of Shiv Sainiks.

Your disapproval about the costly electricity should be conveyed to the government in writing.” He asked the government to intervene with the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) and put off the increase in rates. The distribution companies should be instructed to make billing according to the old rates,he added.