AT Photo
Guwahati, August 19: The Jorhat District Committee of the Raijor Dal and the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), in collaboration with local residents, organised a sit-in on Monday in front of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) office.
The demonstration was in response to the alleged exorbitant electricity charges associated with the new smart meter system.
The Jorhat unit of Raijor Dal also sent a memorandum to the Chief Executive Engineer of Jorhat, urging for an immediate resolution to the issue.
The memorandum warned that if the problem is not addressed promptly, the party, along with the local community, will escalate their protests into a full-fledged movement against the smart meter system in Assam.
“We all gathered here today to raise this issue because people have been burdened with exorbitant bills from the smart meters. As a political party, it’s our duty to bring the issues affecting the people to the concerned authorities,” a protester said, addressing the gathering.
Protesters held posters and placards demanding the removal of the smart meters and shouted slogans against the APDCL.
"We demand regular electricity without any further delay; the people cannot be looted in the name of smart meters," one protester said.
The APDCL has responded to the allegations, stating that the charge per unit remains at ₹5.90 but clarified that the introduction of four new slabs has impacted the final bill.
“The Fuel and Power Purchase (FPP) charge is at zero, but it has been added to the unit charge,” an APDCL official explained.
Meanwhile, reports of inflated bills due to the smart meter system have emerged from various parts of the state, leading to protests in multiple districts.
Earlier, residents in Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh also protested against the prepaid digital smart meter system, with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) leading the demonstrations in both districts.
Assam is one of the states that have implemented the prepaid digital smart meter system under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
The implementation and supervision of the system in the state are carried out by the APDCL, with six packages under which the revamping has been done.
