The All Assam Students Union (AASU), Jorhat unit on Friday burnt an effigy symbolizing the State Power department in protest against prolonged hours of load shedding in the eastern Assam district in past two months.
Also read: Assam: Protest at Pathsala over irregular power supply
Shouting slogans against the State Government and its failure to supply adequate power, AASU members staged the protest in front of the Jorhat deputy commissioner’s office by the side of AT Road.
The protesters alleged that the APDCL had been carrying out power cuts for long hours and ginger one excuse or the other.
“At times it was for maintenance work, at times cable replacement and at times the feeder was down. These outages occurred especially when the mercury rose and the heat and humidity was unbearable,” an AASU member said.
Not only were the excuses becoming more and more unbelievable but the outages occurred without prior warning or notices in newspapers,” the member further said.
General secretary, AASU, Jorhat district unit, Jitu Neog said that assertions of people, businessmen, homemakers, students, elders, children, medical patients, suffered during the ongoing heat wave due to power cuts which lasted for over seven to eight hours.
Neog criticised the BJP led government in the State for its failure to live up to its promise on the eve of the Assembly polls of supplying 24 hours uninterrupted power.
Bijoy Shankar Bordoloi, advisor of Jorhat regional unit of the AASU, said that there were complaints against employees of the APDCL for not receiving calls by consumers at the designated complaint phone number during day as well night time.
