Opposition parties hit the streets in Tripura over state government’s decision to install smart meters, hike power tariff

Addressing the rally, a Congress leader said, “Power bills have gone up. We strongly condemn this… In West Bengal, their party is opposing the installation of smart meters, but in Tripura, the power minister is in favour of the installation of smart meters.”

The Congress also organised similar protests over the issue in Unakoti, North Tripura, and Gomati districts.

“In Tripura, people want to know how much commission did (the BJP) get for introducing the smart meter. We demand that the installation be stopped immediately and the surcharges be withdrawn for the sake of poor people. There is no food, work here but the government, for the sake of a section of people, is trying to put the burden on the poor people,” said a Congress leader of Pabiacherra Block in Unakoti district.

Another Congress leader in Kailasahar said the BJP had assured of fulfilling over 300 promises in their ‘Vision Document’ before coming to power.

He claimed that the BJP said it would introduce a reasonable power tariff.

“After the BJP came to power, the power services are in a miserable condition in Kailasahar. On top of this, the BJP-led state government has decided to install smart meters. Why can the double-engine government not control power tariffs?” he added.

Likewise, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) organised a protest in front of Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath’s residence in Agartala, demanding the withdrawal of the surcharges and rollback of the decision to install smart meters.

“We have organised a sit-in in front of the power minister’s residence and we shall continue our protest till he withdraws the decisions,” a TMC leader said.

Meanwhile, the primary Opposition party, the CPI(M), also protested in front of the Udaipur Bidyut Bhawan.

“We demand that the state stop the installation of smart meters and roll back the power surcharges,” said a CPI(M) leader.

Reacting to the protests, Power Minister Nath said, “There has been an attempt to confuse people. The power surcharges and the smart meters are two separate things. In the last seven years during BJP rule, the power tariff has been hiked by 24.9 per cent, while the tariff rose by 116.03 per cent during the last seven years of the erstwhile CPI(M) government.”

“Earlier, power services were directly under the state power department, but the Left Front government formed the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited in 2004,” he added.

The minister said power consumers can keep both meters – the existing electronic meters and the new smart meters – if they have doubts about the smart meters.

If any fault were detected in smart meters, the government will roll back the decision to install them, he added.