Farmers threaten protest, seek more power supply

Greater Noida: Farmers of Rabupura on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation on Wednesday if their demands for a minimum 18-hour power supply in urban areas and 14-hour supply in rural areas were not met by Noida Power Company Ltd (NPCL).
Dhirendra Singh, senior leader of Kisan Majdoor Sangathan, said given the month of Ramzan and ensuing festive season, UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had promised a minimum 14-hour power supply in rural areas and 18-hour supply in urban areas of the state.
"However, NPCL refuses to follow instructions and continues to exploit the consumers of GB Nagar. We will protest in front of the NPCL office on June 29 if our demands are not met," he said.
Salim Khan, a resident of Bilaspur, said they were getting a mere eight-hour power supply. "NPCL is earning crores every month in the name of fixed charge and voluntary charge. In the name of meter checking, the company sends bouncers to the homes of consumers. They usually misbehave with us. But what about adequate power supply," he said.
In its response, NPCL said, "It is our constant endeavour to provide adequate supply to all consumers. However, owing to various reasons - severe transmission constraints, high-line losses, non-payment of bills on time, etc supply gets reduced. Despite such constraints, we are providing 12 to 13 hours' supply to Bilaspur area during evening peak hours."
"We assure you that we will wee to it that the consumers get adequate electricity supply," said Subodh Tyagi, deputy general manager of NPCL.