Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI: The United Opposition Forum staged a demonstration in front of the Bijuli Bhawan, Guwahati, on Friday demanding the complete withdrawal of prepaid smart meters in the state.
Thousands of activists gathered in front of the Bijuli Bhawan, shouting slogans against the government. According to them, the government's decision to install prepaid smart meters in place of digital meters was wrong, and they should withdraw it.
APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah said, "The government has imposed the smart meters only for commission. Numerous consumers have reported faulty meter readings in the smart meters, leading to exorbitant bills."
He added, "In several instances, electricity consumers have seen their electricity bill double or triple even after the installation of prepaid smart meters, despite no significant changes in the electricity consumption."
Borah demanded the immediate withdrawal of smart meters, failing which the APCC will stage a statewide protest. The leader of the opposition, Debarata Saikia, Rajya Sabha MP Ajit Bhuyan, and Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi were among the prominent leaders who took part in the protest.
Later, the opposition forum submitted a memorandum to the chairman of Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) demanding the immediate halt and reversal of the prepaid smart meters installation across the state.
In the memorandum, they said, "The original plan was to install the smart meters at government offices, industry, and commercial consumers. But the government installed the prepaid smart meters in the households of domestic consumers. Approximately 80 percent of revenue was collected by the APDCL from government officials, industry, and commercial establishments. The rest was collected from the domestic consumers. Hence, the government should have installed the smart meters in the government and commercial establishments. But, they in turn, installed it in the domestic consumers' households, focusing on generating higher revenue."
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