@RishikeshChava9
Mumbai: The steep hike in electricity bills by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company, MSEDCL or Mahavitaran) has sparked off widespread resentment amongst the people. After the lockdown was imposed due to the Corona pandemic hotels, offices, companies and other establishments were closed. There were demands being made that no tariff bills be charged for the next three months.
When the bills were dispatched to the consumers they were exorbitantly high. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray wrote letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray over the steep hike and warned to do “MNS style” protest. The Mahavitaran officials did not respond properly and hence the MNS volunteers could not control their anger and vandalised the MSEDCL office.
The MNS had demanded that at least concession in payment of electricity bills be given and not to hold the citizens hostage. The Vashi Police have detained three MNS activists after they damaged the glass panes of the entrance gate. People have been accusing the power supply companies of looting through inflated tariff bills during the lockdown period.
Speaking to TheNews21 Gajanan Kale said “As we came to know of these electricity hiked bills all over the state, the MNS requested the companies to reconsider these phony bills. In some cases people who had locked their homes and moved out even they got electricity bills.”
He further said “After all these formalities and our chief Raj Thackeray even wrote a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray and Mahavitaran yet no action was taken. Yet the MSEDCL was not responding civilly our volunteer’s vandalised MSEB office”. “Now at least we expect the government to wake up and take a firm decision regarding hiked bills” he added.-By Rishikesh Chavan
