'State provides uninterrupted, high-quality electricity supply'

Kolkata: State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on Wednesday issued a press statement saying that the state government has been able to provide high quality uninterrupted power supply to the people without initiating any increase in tariff over the past six years.

"Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's instructions, the state Power department has been providing high-quality electricity throughout the day without any interruption. The department is working in this regard," reads the press statement.

The Power minister also stated that the state government has not increased the tariff of electricity in the state for the past six years. The department is committed to provide high quality supply to all its consumers.

The state government has been bearing a cost of Rs 1,000 crore as subsidy to ease the financial burden of the consumers in the state. The Power department has also been implementing the Chief Minister's instruction who stated that people consuming electricity below 300 units would be given the subsidy. The state government is also providing subsidy to the farmers who are using electricity for cultivating their lands.

The press statement also maintained that the price of electricity is determined by the Centre-owned power regulatory commission. Since it is a statutory body, the state government has no control over it. The minister also clarified that the state government has no control over the private agencies which supply electricity in certain pockets of the state.

It may be mentioned here that the minister's statement came on the day when hundreds of BJP activists and leaders resorted to violence and staged massive demonstration outside the CESC office at Esplanade protesting against the high cost of electricity in the city. Some of the BJP workers allegedly attacked police personnel during the incident.